The Choice
by 0123Hope
Summary: Elena is the constant woman in Damon Salvatore's life, but she's never the only woman.
1. Chapter 1

So this story is kind of an experiment. Let me know if you like it. I promise that underneath this whole thing is a good storyline, just give me some time to develop it.

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**The Choice**

Chapter 1

Life is all about choices. You make them, regret them, try to change them, but eventually learn how to live with them. A choice can change your life forever and most people don't think about the consequences it will bring, or the hurt it can cause. But at the end of the day, you make the choice that seems the most right to you, the one that will affect your life, that one choice that will change your life forever. The choice you don't regret because it's the right one for you.

Elena Gilbert was all too aware what the consequences of her choice were, how much pain she had caused when she made it all those years ago. Never had a choice had this much affect on her, never had the price been so high. It had cost her the family she had grown up with, the parents that had been by her side since the day of her birth, the warmth of a family home, a brother. It had cost her the life she thought she'd always live.

"Damon?"

Her eyes scanned the spacious loft, the place that had become her home five years ago. The black stylish couch became the spot where her tears were eased and her laughs awakened. The dark oak kitchen on her right held memories of mornings of two people discussing the previous day, sharing the events of their lives, sharing their life.

"He's still asleep."

She turned around, finding the brunette with green eyes next to the desk, her hair messy, her make-up smeared. She didn't bother to ask her name or what she was doing here; she knew all too well what that girl was doing here, how she had gotten here. She had learned long ago that she would never see that girl again, any of the girls. "Thanks."

"I left my number on the desk," The girl pointed her finger to the wrinkled piece of paper. "Tell him to call me."

"Sure."

Once the girl walked out of the loft, a smile came across her lips. She shook her head and threw the note in the trash can next to the desk. Her eyes went back to the bedroom, the panels of frosted glass shut and shielding the bed from the rest of the loft. The wood squeaked under her feet as she took the two steps to get on the platform, a sigh escaping her when she found two bodies on the bed, the blonde's leg dangling over the edge, her arms pushed under the pillow, her lips slightly parted, her hair the same mess like the brunette's one. She pouted her lips together and watched the man beside the blonde.

Damon Salvatore, God's gift to the women on Earth, a devil and angel hidden in one body, the nightmare of every innocent girl, the dream of every desperate woman. He possessed women, let them fall at his feet to show them what other men couldn't give them, only to break their hearts once the sun came up. She had long ago realized that falling in love with him was suicide, that you'd be more likely to find the Holy Grail than his heart.

"Damon." She threw his pants on the bed and tapped her foot. "Get up."

"Who are you?" The blonde turned on her side, looking at her through narrowed eyes. "Go away."

"I'm his wife." She smirked dangerously. "So get your ass out of the bed and get out of here."

"You're married?" The girl gasped, her eyes fixed on Damon's face. "Why are you not wearing a wedding ring?"

"Would you wear a wedding ring if you tried to pick up a girl?"

"Asshole."

Elena had to bite back a smile as the girl threw her pillow at Damon's face, covering her naked body with the blue sheets from the bed, leaving Damon behind on the bed in all his glory. She didn't even pretend to look away, instead she arched her eyebrow at him, finding an amused smile on his face.

"Come here."

He grabbed her arm and pulled her on top of him, those blue eyes shimmering in mischief. She straddled him, her knees squeezing his waist, her stomach against his, their noses pushing against one another. She bit down on his bottom lip, her hands discovering the contours of his body.

"I think this is the first time I've caught you in a threesome," She chuckled devilishly against his mouth. "I was almost shocked."

"I have to keep you on your toes, don't I?"

"You know what would really catch me off guard?" She let her hands travel down his bare chest, nuzzling his neck. "If I found you with someone who was actually smart enough to figure out that you're not married."

"Maybe that one will be smart enough to look for a wedding ring," He pretended to be shocked, a gasp escaping him. "We should buy wedding rings before someone finds out our marriage is a sham."

She rolled her eyes at him, pecking his lips, stroking his scruffy cheek. It was something they had been doing for years; in the morning when another woman lay in his bed, she was his wife until that woman disappeared out of the loft and turned her back into Elena, the best friend.

"Get rid of those condoms." She pointed her chin to the floor and crawled off his body. "I'm going to take a shower, Bonnie and Caroline claimed the bathroom this morning."

"Don't make too much noise in there." He yelled after her while she stepped into the bathroom. "I have a headache."

She didn't bother to answer and started removing her clothes from her body, leaving them on the small bench beside the sink. She grabbed her shampoo from the shelf and walked into the shower that stood in the middle of the bathroom, three sides made from glass, the other covered with black tiles. The beats of water fell against her skin, warming her cold body, running from her long silken brown hair to the swells of her breasts.

She cupped her breasts in her hands, feeling the weight before squeezing them softly, flicking her hardened nipples with her thumbs. The sensation made little tingles appear on her skin, her body wanting more. A quiet moan escaped her when she let go of her breast and let her hand slip over her stomach to the warm place between her legs. She threw her head back once she found her little bundle of nerves and started rubbing circles on it, the wetness between her legs preparing her for more. She traced her entrance with her finger and dipped slowly inside, gently pushing her finger further into her heated core. It only took a few seconds before her walls welcomed the intrusion and adjusted around it, making her moan in pleasure. She started pumping her finger back and forth, adding another finger into her entrance.

"Let me."

She jumped as a hard body pushed against her back, his voice making shivers run down her spine, his hand slipping over her breast to the place between her legs, pushing her hand out of the way to replace it with his own.

"I thought you had a headache."

"That's only an excuse for women to not have sex."

Her head fell back against his shoulder once he plunged two fingers into her; her breathing rapid, her heart drumming in her chest, her body tingling in anticipation. She placed her arm on the back of his neck, pulling on his black raven hair while his teeth scraped the skin on her shoulder, his fingers quickening inside of her. Her brown eyes rolled back in her head when he started rubbing her clit, sucking on the pulse point in her neck.

"Fuck, you're wet."

"We're in the shower."

"Yeah..." He breathed huskily in her ear. "That's exactly what I meant."

"Keep going." She arched against his body, her arm tightening around his neck, her hand cupping his to help him set the pace. "Oh, God."

The world around her exploded while she started pulsing around Damon's fingers, the waves of pleasure making her arch against the hard body behind her, her hand gripping his for support, the other one gripping his thigh to stay upright.

"You're beautiful."

"You probably say that to all the girls."

"Only to the beautiful ones." He chuckled against the skin in her neck, wrapping his arms around her waist. "And you are really beautiful."

"And you are a pain in the ass." She turned her head over her shoulder and pecked his lips. "But you can be really sweet when you want to."

"I can be a pain in the ass," He pushed his hard member against her ass, smirking devilishly. "If you want me to."

"We already tried that once, remember?" She turned around in his embrace, pushing her breasts against his chest. "It was a shitty experience, literally."

"But you've loosened up over the years." He let his hand slide from her shoulders to her ass. "It's time to thank me for that."

"You have such a way with words, it still amazes me every day."

"It's all part of the job."

He worked in advertising, he could as easily sell a kitchen to a homeless guy as his body to the women in the bars. He was one of the best and his paycheck was what gave him this spacious loft, the big shower, the marble kitchen top, it was what gave him this comfortable life, what gave her this comfortable life. It hadn't been always like that, five years ago they had to scrape money together, pick up every penny they saw on the street, work two jobs to eat every night. But that time was over once he got promoted, becoming an executive on his way to becoming partner in the firm.

"Can you drop me off at school?" She caressed his back, making small circles. "Because otherwise I have to go now."

"I wouldn't drop you off," He looked between their bodies, poking her stomach with his hard member. "But this one will make me."

"He was always much nicer to me than you." She wrapped her hand around him and gently rubbed circles around his tip. "Good morning to you too, how are you doing?"

"Stop talking to my penis."

"He's the only one I can have an actual conversation with because he's the one with the brain."

"Grab a condom for him, will you?"

"You're the only person I know who keeps condoms in his shower." She grabbed a condom from the corner and handed it to him. "Not that I've been in that many showers."

"It's because I usually don't shower alone."

"You can say that." She rolled her eyes at him, looking away. "God knows how many woman have stood on the exact same place as I'm standing now."

"If it's any comfort," He ripped the package open with his teeth, spitting the wrapper on the ground. "You're the only one that's stood here more than once."

She pushed herself up on tiptoes and wrapped her arms around his neck, her lips finding their way to his. She knew she was the only constant woman in his life, because she was the only one that knew him five years ago. He didn't let people in, he stopped letting people in five years ago when someone had hurt him so much that his trust in people faded away.

The only reason why she was still here, was because she met him fifteen years ago, she had been eight and he was the thirteen-year-old that didn't want any little girls near him. Their parents became best friends and they had been forced to spend every waking minute together, by the time she turned nine it became clear to everyone around them that they were inseparable. At the age of ten she was allowed to hang out with the big boys as long as she pretended to be their little sister to the girls they wanted to seduce. And she agreed to it, because it meant she could spend more time with her best friend, so she'd never have to leave his side.

And she had never left his side. Through her teen years she met all of his girlfriends; talked with them about boys, did their hair, even went shopping with them. They never saw her as a threat because of her young age, but when it came down to it she came first to Damon, she was his girl and she'd always come first, until the day he met someone that really changed his life. The girl had been sexy, beautiful, smart, witty; everything a guy could ask for and she thought she had lost him. The announcement of his engagement came when she was seventeen, his parents couldn't have been more proud of him, her parents were helping them plan the wedding, their brothers were making a fuss about the bridesmaids and all she could do was watch him love another woman.

"Wrap your legs around me."

"Pick me up first." She placed her hands on his shoulders, arching her eyebrow. "Or do you want me to really jump you?"

He rolled his blue eyes at her and picked her up from the ground so she could wrap her legs around him. She squealed as her back pressed against the cold black tiles, her skin covered with goose bumps. His face was buried in the crook of her neck, sucking and nibbling on the skin there while she tangled her fingers into his black raven hair.

"Why do I always have to be the one against the cold tiles?"

"Because you're always hot and bothered."

"I thought you liked hot."

His blue eyes shimmered as he looked back up at her, an amused smile playing on his lips. She reached between them and took his length into her hand, placing it against her entrance. A moan escaped her once he started pushing inside of her, letting her walls adjust around him.

"Hi."

"Hi."

She held his face in her hands as he pressed his forehead against hers, the playful tone of their conversation gone, his feelings coming to the surface. It was at times like these she knew why she let him use her body, because it was the closest she could get to him, it was the only way to know what he was feeling, because he only showed it with his body. He was the first man she gave herself to and at the time she thought it would stay by that one time, but after his heart got broken and his soul got crushed, sex was the only way she got to see the real Damon, the one that hid beneath the surface and behind countless of women, the Damon she had grown up with.

"You okay?"

"I'm with you," She tightened her legs around his waist, stroking his raven black hair. "Why wouldn't I be okay?"

He nodded slowly and took her lips back between his, moving his hips forward to thrust inside of her. She held onto his shoulders with one arm, the other weaved in his dark locks. He started moaning into her mouth, purring under her touch. She pulled her lips away from his once she needed to breath, her hands cupping his face, pulling it against hers so she could lock her brown doe eyes with his darkened blue ones.

His blue eyes bored into hers. It was in these moments that she unlocked her own feelings, let herself feel everything she felt for him. Loving him was dangerous; it was putting your heart on the line and preparing for it to get crushed over and over again. He would never bind himself to anyone and there would never be just one girl anymore, but she loved him long before he became this man. She loved him the moment he got his driver's license, the minute he lost his virginity, the second she saw him cry for the first time. It had been the first and the last time, he barged into her room, tears rolling over his cheeks, his whole body shaking. And she took him in her arms without asking any questions, she held him and never let him go since then.

"Damon."

"Me too." His grip on her legs tightened, his thrusts becoming more violent. "Elena."

She held him firmer in her arms as she reached her climax, holding onto his body while her walls pulsed around him, pulling him with her into her orgasm. He growled and buried his head into her neck while she placed a kiss on his temple and caressed his back.

"I'm going to have dinner with my parents tonight." She whispered into his ear, holding him against her. "Jeremy came home from New York so..."

"Sure." He lowered her to the ground, holding her in place. "Do you need someone to drive you there?"

"No." She shook her head, biting her lip. "We're going to some expensive restaurant; they're sending their driver to pick me up."

"Of course they are."

"Hey." She turned his face back to hers when he looked away. "I'm only going because Jeremy's going to be there and I haven't seen him in months."

"I know." He stroked her cheek affectionately. "I get it; they won't let your brother near you so you have to go."

"I just want to see him again and talk about going to university in New York."

"I get it, Elena." He held her face in his hands, placing a kiss on top of her head. "Don't worry about me. Go and try to have fun."

She smiled at him, pushing her body against his under the beads of water. She reached up and pushed her lips against his for another time, tasting the inside of his mouth, moaning harder with every lip-lock. He growled when a loud knock on the door rumbled through the loft.

"That's Stefan." He pulled away from her, rolling his eyes. "Even in his knock he manages to sound broody."

She shook her head as he pecked her lips one last time and got out of the shower, drying himself quickly before grabbing his pants and pulling them on. She rolled her eyes at the lack of underwear and turned to the bottle of shampoo in the corner of the shower.

"We're leaving in twenty minutes."

"Okay." She put some shampoo on her hand. "I'm just going to wash my hair."

He walked out the bedroom and grabbed his phone from the night table, quickly browsing through his new messages while walking to the front door. He pulled it open and was met with the green eyes of his brother. Stefan didn't bother to wait for an invite to come in and walked past him to the kitchen.

"Good morning, brother." Damon threw his phone on the table. "Why so rushed?"

"Can I drive with you to work?" He threw his arms up in the air, defeated. "My car broke down."

"When are you going to buy a new car, Stef?" He rolled his eyes in annoyance. "The thing is in the shop more than on the road."

"I don't have the money to buy a new car." Stefan sent him an evil glare. "Not everyone makes as much money as you do."

"No, but you still have a sugar daddy." Damon pushed his finger into his brother's chest. "So use his money before he disowns you like he did with me."

"Who's in the shower?" Stefan looked away from him, changing the subject. "One of your one-night stands?"

"No." He smirked devilishly, walking into the kitchen. "It's Elena."

Stefan's green eyes went wide, scanning over his damp hair, the few drops that still ran down his abdomen. He quickly looked away as the realization hit him, he had known all along about his brother and Elena, but that didn't mean he wanted it to get rubbed into his face.

"Maybe if you would man up and ask her on a date," Damon poured himself a cup of coffee. "She would be in your shower and you would finally know what it's like to be inside of her and have her naked skin against yours while she screams your name."

"Stop it, Damon."

"That's what you want, isn't it?" He cocked his head to the side, watching his brother shuffle uncomfortably. "You want to tell her you love her and hold her at night, have a couple of kids with her."

"That's more than you'll ever give her."

"Very true." He pointed his mug at Stefan, chuckling. "So while you grow some balls, I'll just keep on fucking her."

"Are you arguing again?" Elena walked into the kitchen, her damp hair pulled up into a ponytail. "Hi, Stefan."

"Hi, Elena." He stammered, biting his lip. "You look beautiful today, like any day."

She smiled at him and quickly walked into the kitchen, keeping her eyes on the floor. She could appreciate Stefan's innocent nature, his naivety and charm. But he wanted her heart, wanted her to love him and make him her husband. She had always known that he wanted more from her, more than his brother would ever give her, but that her body was free didn't mean that her heart was, it had an owner, an owner that would never claim it as his but that didn't mean that it was for the taking.

"Coffee." A smile came across her lips while she took Damon's mug out of his hands and sipped on it. "Ew, it's black."

"Of course it's black." Damon rolled his eyes, grabbing the mug back. "Have you never heard the expression; once you go black, there's no way back?"

"I don't think they meant coffee." She pecked his lips, ruffling his damp hair. "But you're cute for trying."

"I am not cute." He glared at her, pointing his finger at her smile. "I'm everything but cute."

"Come here." She grabbed his chin and rubbed her thumb over his lips. "You got lipstick on you."

"Since when do you wear lipstick?"

"Since today is the day I have that professor that doesn't give grades on your performance but on the way you look."

"Oh." His blue eyes went wide in amusement. "Maybe you should give the naughty professor a real performance instead of writing all those essays."

"I'm not you." She narrowed her eyes at him, pouring milk in his coffee. "I don't sell my body for good grades, I actually like using my brain."

"Well, if he swings both ways I'll do him." He pouted his lips together, frowning down his nose. "Anything to get you through school."

"I'll hold you to that." She held her pinky finger up, grabbing his coffee. "Pinky promise me."

"Guys." Stefan leaned on the other side of the counter. "Are you two going to the fundraiser?"

"We're still undecided." Elena sipped on the coffee. "It depends, if Damon really has to be there for his job, we'll go."

"And I really hope not."

"And he really hopes not and he usually gets his way," She exchanged a look with a smug looking Damon. "So don't count on us."

"But our parents want us to be there, all members of the founding families should be there."

"They don't count me as their family anymore, Stefan." Damon walked out of the kitchen into the bedroom. "So why would I go there to make them look good?"

"We owe it to them, Damon."

"I don't owe them a goddamn thing."

* * *

"Excuse me, Miss." Elena leaned over the small desk, pulling the attention of the young girl behind it. "Has Grayson Gilbert and his family already arrived?"

"Yes." The girl stood up and took a menu. "They told me that they were expecting company, please follow me."

She nodded quietly and walked behind the petite girl, moving between the tables of laughing families, business associates, friends. Her stomach filled with nervous butterflies once she saw her parents sitting at a table, a tall blonde guy sitting at the same table, nodding at everything they said to him. Her father pointed his chin to her once he saw her approach, which made her mother turn around and stand up.

"Elena." Miranda Gilbert wrapped her arms around her daughter. "We're so glad you could make it."

"Hi, Mom." She hugged her back, looking over her mother's shoulder at her father. "Hi, Dad."

You could cut the tension with a knife, she had turned her back on these people five years ago and until today they never let her forget about it. She didn't get warm welcomes or smiles anymore, usually they gave her the cold shoulder because she had made the choice to step away from them. A choice that had let her be with Damon but made her lose her family. They didn't agree with that choice, they never would and she never thought they would actually come to accept it.

"Elena." He nodded firmly and pointed his hand to the man beside him. "May I introduce you to Tristan Miller?"

"Nice meeting you." She extended her hand. "I'm Elena."

"Tristan." He shook her hand and smiled warmly. "It's nice meeting you, may I say you look beautiful?"

"Thank you, Tristan." She smiled shyly and let her gaze switch between her mother and father. "Where's Jeremy?"

"I don't really know where Jeremy is at the moment." Her mother smiled and motioned for her to sit down. "Let's start on the first course, yes?"

"But he's coming, right?" Her voice pitched, her eyes looking for her mother's brown ones. "You said he would be here and I want to hear stories about New York."

"I'm sure you'll hear them, sweetie." Miranda pushed her down on the chair. "Let's eat."

She made herself comfortable and started picking on the food that was placed in front of her, looking at the entrance every five seconds to see if her brother already arrived. She glanced at Tristan who sat nervously beside her, her parents keeping their eyes at the two of them at all times. The longer they sat there, the more she got the feeling that her parents were up to something she wouldn't agree with.

"So Elena," Her mother smiled, glancing at the man beside her. "Did you know that Tristan works for that new firm in town, he's an architect."

"Really?" She looked at Tristan beside her, trying her best to sound interested. "I'm sure that's really interesting."

"Yeah..." He nodded, smiling at her. "I just hope that the firm starts making money, we're new here so we still have to make a name for ourselves otherwise I won't be able to keep my job."

"Wait." She jumped up in her chair, her brown eyes sparkling. "Is it the new firm next to the Starbucks? My friend is setting up a campaign for them."

"That's possible." Tristan sat straighter in his chair, sipping on his glass of wine. "Does your friend work for Elijah Michaelson?"

"He does." She nodded, laughing warmly. "I saw the campaign, I think you"ll get to keep your job. He said you were lucky because they wanted some newbie to do it because they have too much work but one of the firms they were working for went bankrupt so he got your account instead."

"But if the firm went bankrupt?" Tristan arched his eyes, smiling softly. "Then how can I trust your friend?"

"It wasn't Damon's fault." She rolled her eyes, biting her lip. "You're lucky he didn't hear that or he would rip your head off."

"Elena, honey." Her mother grabbed her hand, giving her a disapproving look. "Let's not talk about Damon tonight, okay?"

"Why not?" The smile fell off her face. "Why can't we talk about Damon?"

There had been a time when Damon had been everything to them, a time when they could picture him as the perfect son-in-law. But that time never came and Damon didn't do what they wanted him to do, instead he chose the other way and did his own thing. Her parents would never accept his choice, neither would his. He became the forbidden subject in every conversation and the only reason why he was still invited to all the events, was because the Salvatores wanted to keep up appearances.

"It's not an appropriate subject." Miranda smiled tightly, trying to soothe her. "How's everything at school?"

"You mean the school that Damon's paying for because you refused to?" She cocked her head to the side, smirking. "It's going great, I'm already getting job offers and Damon's really proud of me."

"Stop defending him, Elena." Grayson punched his fist on the table. "The boy's a disgrace to his family and he's a disgrace to us."

"Because he didn't marry the girl you wanted him to marry?" Her eyes went wide, her teeth clenched together. "Or because he didn't step into the business with you and Giuseppe?"

"I apologize for my daughter's behavior, Tristan." Miranda pointed her attention at him. "She went through a difficult period, thanks to this Damon guy who she had a crush on when she was younger, her life became a mess but she's getting it back on track."

"He's not this Damon guy, he's Damon." She threw her napkin on the table. "And I'm not going through a difficult period."

"No, because you are ready to find yourself a suitable husband and start a family." Miranda locked her eyes on hers. "You're going to move back home and stop those photography classes, instead you're going to business school so you can take your father's place in a few years."

"It's journalism, Mom." She let out a hard laugh, shaking her head in disbelief. "That's how much you care about my life, you don't even know that I want to become a journalist?"

"Elena, calm down."

"No, Elena." The velvet voice came from behind her. "Please throw a fit."

She turned around on her chair, her brown eyes locking with the blue ones she knew all too well. He smirked at her and in that moment she felt safe again, comfortable in her own skin because she knew it'd be okay, they'd get through this. Ever since they left together five years ago, they became an invincible team, he had her back whenever her family tried to push her into something and she was there to get him out of the room when his family was insulting him. Five years ago they walked out of that room together and they silently promised each other that they would stick together.

"Damon." She shook her head at him, scanning over his tensed body. "Why are you here?"

"Jeremy called my apartment," His eyes locked onto hers and back to her parents. "He said he would be here in three days."

"You have no right to interrupt this family dinner." Grayson stood up, moving in front of Damon. "This is none of your business, this is between us and our daughter."

"This isn't a family dinner and she isn't your daughter anymore, you said so five years ago." Damon pushed her father out of the way and grabbed her coat from her chair. "Come on, I'm taking you home."

"Elena." Her father turned around to her. "I can forgive you for five years ago because you were young and when you're young, you make mistakes. But you're a smart girl, this is your last chance, if you're going with him then you're not a part of this family anymore."

"It was nice meeting you Tristan." She looked at the baffled man beside her and placed a kiss on his cheek. "I owe you a coffee for all this drama."

"Don't worry about it." He gave her a tight smile and shook her hand. "It was nice meeting you too."

"Elena." Her mother stood up, her eyes hardening. "Don't do this. You're making the wrong choice."

"I made the right choice five years ago." She took her coat from Damon and grabbed her bag from the floor. "So I'm going to make it again."

She turned on her heels and started walking between the tables to the exit, Damon's hand supporting her lower-back while they left the same way they left their parents behind five years ago. She had to blink her eyes once the cold air hit her face and made it harder for her to keep her tears back.

"It's really not something worth crying about." Damon stood on the sidewalk beside her. "They should be the ones crying."

"They used Jeremy to set me up with some guy I've never heard about." She spun around and came to face him. "They're trying to do the same thing to me as they did to you."

"They're trying to get to you and they're trying to control you." He took her shoulders and locked their eyes. "This is what we walked away from five years ago."

"But why don't they leave us alone?" She stomped her foot, tears rolling over her cheeks. "If they don't agree with us than the least they can do is leave us alone."

"They want to show their power." He wrapped his arms around her shaking body, holding her closely. "Don't let them have power over you, don't let them get to you."

"Using Jeremy is just a really low blow." She hugged him tightly, hiding her face against his leather jacket. "I need coffee."

"I'll buy you coffee."

"That's why you're my best friend."

"Because I know when you need coffee?"

"No," She looked up at him, doing her best to give him a warm smile. "Because you have the money to buy me coffee."

"It's a good thing you're already crying," He tapped her nose and shook his head in amusement. "Or I'd make you cry for that comment."

"I know." She pecked his cheek and placed her head back down against his shoulder. "I took advantage of the fact that you can't see me cry."

"If you keep on insulting me, then I won't buy you coffee."

"I wasn't insulting you." She looked up at him with her most innocent eyes, playfully smiling. "I was commenting on your ability to be mushy and caring."

"You really don't want me to buy you coffee, do you?"

She wrapped her arms around his waist and snuggled into his side while he wrapped his arms around her body and held her close against him. He was the only one that was able to comfort her at moments like these, when she thought the world around her was falling apart, he managed to put a smile on her face within five seconds. It was one of the reasons why she chose to go with him five years ago, because he was the foundation of her happiness, he was the rock that stood behind her to make her strong, to make her reach things she never thought possible. In the fifteen years they had known each other, he became everything to her, and to this day, he still was.

"Do you regret it?" His blue eyes looked down on her. "The choice you made, do you regret it?"

"No." She shook her head, shrugging. "It may have had consequences that I don't like but I don't regret going with you."

"I took you away from your family."

"You are my family." She placed her hand on his cheek, stroking it softly. "You were there more when I grew up than my parents ever were."

"You were a cute kiddo." He placed a kiss on top of her head, grabbing her hand in his. "Besides, even if I wanted to get away from you, you still clung to my leg."

"And you became so tired of it that you picked me up and carried me over your shoulder."

"You made me carry you." He pushed his finger against her chest, shaking his head. "I still remember that time when you were fourteen and your mother bought you your first pair of heels. You twisted your ankle and I had to carry you but you made me tell everyone we were playing bride and groom."

"You promised me you would never speak of that again," She swatted him, turning away from him. "You know I don't like it when you tell embarrassing stories about me."

"I haven't even reached the embarrassing ones," He threw his arms up, his eyes wide open. "Do you remember the first time you got your period?"

"Damon." She pointed her finger at him, warning him with her eyes. "Do not go there."

"Now, that was embarrassing."

"My mom never told me about it," She stomped her foot, glaring at him. "I didn't know what was going on."

"You asked me to put a bandage on it," He walked past her, shaking his head at the memory. "You thought you were going to bleed to death."

"And do you remember how embarrassing it was for you when you had to explain to me the whole thing?" She crossed her arms over her chest, stomping after him. "You were the one who had the talk with me."

"One of the many examples that show how incompetent your parents are."

"I'll never forgive you for bringing this up again," She hit his shoulder while walking into the bar, a pout on her face. "Not even your smile is going to get you out of this one."

"Matt, give Elena a latte and some extra cookies." He plopped down on the stool at the bar, rubbing his eyes. "And a bourbon for me."

She followed Matt's body as he made her a latte and poured a glass of Bourbon for Damon. Her eyes occasionally wandered into Damon's direction, she smiled softly as she saw him bury his head in his hands, his skin paler than normal, dark circles under his eyes, his black hair messy.

"You okay?" She placed her hand on his shoulder, rubbing it soothingly. "You look tired."

"I had a long day." He looked up at her, his tired eyes focusing on hers. "But I'm fine."

"You work too much."

"Well, someone has to pay for your education."

"Damon." She shook her head, grabbing his shoulder. "If I need to work more shifts here at the bar then you can just tell me, I don't want you to have to worry about money because you're paying for my school."

"I don't have to worry about money, okay?" He squeezed her hand, smiling softly. "And you don't have to work more than you already do, you have to study and make sure that you pass at the end of the year."

"I will pass." She sipped on her latte, smiling. "I promise."

"I know you'll pass, you're a good student," He downed his bourbon, fixing his blue eyes on her brown ones. "You always were."

"Speaking about being a good student," She put her cup back down on the wooden counter. "I still have an essay to write so I should go home."

"Won't Bonnie and Caroline be there?" He arched his eyebrow at her, retrieving his key from his pocket. "You can't stand noise around you when you're writing."

"I'll manage." She sighed, lifting her shoulders. "It's due tomorrow so I'll have to make it work."

"Go to my place." He held his keys up for her. "I won't be there tonight anyway."

"Another girl?"

"Have you seen the blonde in the corner?" He smiled smugly, pointing his head to the corner of the bar. "She's been checking me out since we got here."

"Have fun." She grabbed the keys and placed a kiss on his cheek. "Be safe."

"I always am," He rolled his eyes at her, smirking. "We wouldn't want any mini-Damons walking around, would we?"

"That's not what I meant." She grabbed her purse and swung it over her shoulder. "Just make sure you get home in one piece, that's the way I prefer you."

"Talking about being safe," He grabbed his wallet and handed her a few bills. "Take a taxi."

"I can walk home, Damon."

"It's not safe to walk alone at this time at night." He put the money in her hand and closed it. "Take a taxi and text me when you get home."

"Yes, Mister overprotective," She rolled her eyes, nudging him. "Bring bagels with you when you come home in the morning."

He nodded and she started walking towards the door, turning around with the handle of the door in her grasp. She watched as he approached the blond girl, a predator going for it prey, the blond looked up and immediately smiled at him. He had that affect on all the girls, could get any girl he wanted and she had to watch him take them from a distance. She had been doing it for the past five years and every time a new girl ended up in his bed, it seemed to hurt a little bit more than it did the time before. Because with every new girl in his bed, a bit of her hope was chopped off, over the years her hope only faded away, the dream of having him as her husband, the craving to carry his children, it was now all buried deep inside of her, pushed to the bottom of her being because with every girl, that dream seemed a bit further out of reach than the day before.

* * *

"Damon?"

"Hi."

She felt him drape his arm around her waist, pulling her closer into his chest. It wasn't the first time that he had snuggled into bed into the middle of the night, his bare chest pressed against her back, his legs entangled with hers, his arm wrapped possessively around her waist. She liked it when he came home to her, when he knew she was going to be there and still came just to sleep next to her and wake up next to her in the morning, it made her hope rise a tiny bit more, that one day he would wake up next to her every morning.

"I thought you weren't coming home?"

"She wasn't worth staying for," He mumbled against the back of her neck, snuggling into her. "Sex wasn't that good."

"Does this mean I won't have bagels in the morning?"

"That's exactly what it means." He chuckled against her shoulder, placing a kiss on it. "We'll force Stefan to get us bagels in the morning."

"Then he'll be nagging again about the fundraiser." She took his hand in hers, entwining their fingers. "He really wants us to go."

"Stefan needs a girlfriend." He started stroking the back of her hand with his thumb. "He has so many sexual frustrations that it's making me frustrated."

"Then maybe you should help him find a girlfriend." She squeezed his fingers with hers, pressing her back firmer into his chest. "You know a lot of girls."

"He wants you." He whispered into her ear, his grip on her tightening. "He's been in love with you for years."

"I know."

"Look at me."

She turned around his embrace, feeling his arms lock around her once again when she set her hands against his chest, her brown doe eyes looking for his, finding the blue ones filled with determination.

"Don't ever settle." He cupped her face in his hands, his eyes looking right into her soul. "Don't ever settle for someone who's less than you."

"You want me to become a spinster?" She tried to laugh it off but her voice broke. "Grow old with a bunch of cats around me?"

"I'll be there with you." He pushed his nose against hers, chuckling softly. "I'll be there still fucking everything that breathes and you'll still make snarky comments about it."

"You think we'll still be like this in fifty years?"

"I think we'll be forever like this." He whispered, his eyes burning with the blue fire. "Just you and me."

The day she walked out on her parents it was because they didn't want him around her anymore, and she couldn't be away from him. Her heart had ached with the thought of losing him, her soul had been torn apart with the prospect of losing her dream. She would never be Elena without him because she grew up with their bodies tangled into each other; the world wouldn't be the same place for her if she didn't get to see it with him; her life wouldn't be worth living if she didn't get to spend it with the man she loved. So when they forced her to choose, she chose what was the only right decision for her, she chose the prospect of her dream, the calling of her heart. He was her choice.

"Always."

* * *

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	2. Chapter 2

Wow! I can't believe how much response this story got. Thank you so much for reading & reviewing!

* * *

**The Choice**

Chapter 2

"Do you have a girlfriend?"

Damon pushed himself up on the bed and leaned on his elbows, the blue wrinkled sheets covering his waist, sweat drops running over his abs. He arched his eyebrow as the blond girl stood in front of his closet and traced her fingers over the smooth wood.

"No."

"Then why do you have female clothing in your closet?" She turned around to him, eyeing him suspiciously. "You aren't married, are you?"

"No." He threw the covers off him, standing up with a sigh. "I have a best friend."

"Must be some best friend if half your closet has her clothes in it."

"She is." He grabbed his pants from the floor and walked into the bathroom, leaving the door open. "She's the only person I trust enough to have clothes in my closet."

"She's a lucky girl." The girl leaned against the door frame, crossing her arms over her naked chest. "I bet she's in love with you."

"Let me tell you, Abi."

"It's Andie."

"That's what I said." He rolled his eyes at the mirror in front of him. "Elena is the kind of girl that wants a husband and children, I'm not that guy."

"I never said you were."

His eyes locked onto her green ones, detecting the small amused smile on her face. He had once been ready to start a family, to be someone's husband, play with his children in the yard, but that dream had exploded into his face, the hurt it caused ripped his heart wide open. He would never give anyone the chance to make him go through that again, not even the woman he trusted more than anyone.

"I said that she's in love with you." Andie smiled smugly, watching him pull his pants on. "And you probably don't know her well enough to see it."

"I know Elena better than anyone." He leaned against the bathroom unit. "I know Elena better than she knows herself."

"Prove it."

"Okay." He stood up straight, biting his bottom lip. "Her favorite color is green, her favorite food is pizza, favorite series is White Collar, her favo-,"

"Blah blah blah." Andie mocked him, waving her hands in the air. "I could know those things if I'd spent five minutes with her."

"She thinks she's a Republican because her parents brought her up to be one but in reality she's a Democrat. She loves being around people but after a few hours she wants to go home and curl up on the couch. She loves food but couldn't cook if her life depended on it. Her bed is bigger than her room because she hates sleeping alone. She pretends to be okay with all my one-night stands but she hates it. And it's only partly because of all the different women, it's because she's scared that one day a grizzly bear of a husband will kill me. I know she doesn't sleep before I come home; she never did, when she was a little girl she would sit in front of her window with her teddy bear until she saw me turn up the driveway. She'd do anything for those she loves and any guy should be begging her to marry him." He let his eyes travel over Andie's naked form. "Don't tell me that I don't know my best friend, we grew up together, I lived next to her for ten years and the fact that she pays her part of the rent in an apartment she shares with her friends doesn't mean that she really lives there."

"I'm sorry." She pushed herself off the door frame and shrugged. "It's the journalist in me, we want to know everything."

"I think it's time for the journalist to go." He walked out of the bathroom, leaning against the bedroom wall. "I have a fundraiser to attend."

"You mean the annual fundraiser for all the founding families?" Her eyes went wide and then narrowed thoughtfully. "What's your last name?"

"Salvatore."

"You are the eldest son, aren't you?" She let her eyes travel over his bare chest. "I heard about you, they said your parents disowned you for calling off your engagement."

"Look, Andie." He tasted her name on his tongue. "If I wanted to share what happened five years ago, I would have accepted the interviews they offered me. But I'm not the sharing type."

"Why did you never tell your part of the story?" She arched her eyebrow at him, shaking her head. "The only ones that gave an explanation were your parents."

He still remembered the day he had walked out on in his fiancée, called her every name in the book and slammed the door shut behind him. The media had camped out in front of his parents' door to know why the marriage between the two richest families in town wasn't going to happen. He knew what his parents had said to cover up the drama, how much they paid the papers to write exactly what they said. The truth was something very different, and only a few people knew the reason as to why he had called off the marriage of the year and turned his back on his parents with his best friend by his side.

"It's no one's business." He snatched the picture she took from the shelf out of her hands and placed it back on the closet. "No one's business but mine."

"The Elena you're talking about, your best friend?" She pointed to the picture in front of them. "She's Elena Gilbert."

"Thank you for telling me."

"Everyone thought she was the reason for your break-up." Andie fixed her gaze on him. "Because she left her family for you."

"She wasn't the reason for my break-up." He took the picture in his hand and smiled softly. "She was the reason I couldn't lose it after the break-up; I had to take care of her, I had to make sure she ate, slept, that she had clothes, I had to put her through school and make sure she had a roof over her head. It was just the two of us; we couldn't count on anyone but each other."

"There was no one to help you out?"

"I don't have any family here in the area." His mouth formed a hard line. "We stayed with Elena's grandmother for a couple of weeks until our parents found out and did everything they could to get us out of there."

"But you survived."

"That's the thing with me and Elena." He put the picture back on the shelf and grabbed his shirt from the ground. "We always survive."

"She loves you." Andie stared at the picture and looked at the four people in it. "You can see it in the way she's looking at you."

"That's the day Stefan and Elena graduated." He pointed his chin to the picture. "On the right is Elena's brother Jeremy, the four of us grew up together. We were raised as siblings, Elena was always my favorite Gilbert though, it was like I had to protect my little sister."

"So you see her as your sister?"

"I did for a very long time until one day she came to me and asked me to have sex with her." He smiled softly at the memory, sighing. "Everyone was doing it and she was still a virgin but little insecure Elena wanted to be part of the club."

"Did you?"

"I said no when she asked me." He looked down at the floor, staring at the wooden pattern. "But then the day of the prom she calls me and tells me that some kid named Matt is taking her and that he booked a motel room for after prom. I jumped in my car, drove for seven hours straight, crashed the party and took her to a nice hotel."

"You were jealous."

"I was engaged." He smirked dangerously, his blue eyes shimmering. "We were visiting her parents in New York when Elena called me. I couldn't stand the thought of someone else's hands on her body so I made up some excuse for my fiancée, packed my bags and drove back to Mystic Falls to have sex with my best friend."

"You cheated on your fiancée."

"Well..." He shrugged indifferently. "One month after that she wasn't my fiancée anymore."

He could still see a nervous and scared Elena standing in that hotel room, her hands fidgeting with the seam of her dress, her big brown eyes following his every movement as he tried to make her comfortable. The image of her tanned skin was carved into his mind, how the awkwardness had filled the room while they undressed themselves and looked at each other's naked bodies for the first time in their lives. He could still remember how her big brown eyes had widened as he cupped her cheek in his hand, leaning in to kiss her. He had noticed the way she hesitated before she pushed her lips against his, the hesitation immediately gone while he claimed her lips as his, devouring her, ravishing her with his mouth and hands. The feeling of her hands sliding up and down his bare back still made shivers run down his spine; the way her soft skin had felt underneath his touch was still printed onto his memory. He smiled softly at the memory of how Elena had let herself fall back on the bed, her long silky brown hair fanned out on the covers, her body pressed into the mattress, her big brown eyes looking at him as he slowly crawled over her naked body. A small gasp left her throat while he slowly entered her, and to his surprise she didn't cry or even whimper, instead she gave him the most mesmerizing smile that went straight to his heart. And when he completely filled her, he realized that he had never felt as whole as he did in that moment, like he had been lonely until he connected their bodies. She had been the most beautiful girl he ever held and the look she gave him while he drove her gently to the edge was filled with so much love and adoration that he wanted to claim her as his and ban her from all other men. His name fell off her lips as they found the ultimate pleasure together and even though his work was done, he couldn't let go of her, so he didn't, he held her close to him while they fell asleep together and woke up the next day in each other's arms. Her eyes had been fixed on his face while he slowly came to the world of the living, a small smile had graced her features and he couldn't help but smile to himself and tuck her down to press his lips against hers. A few hours later he drove her home with a connection stronger than ever and the promise that they would never speak of that night again.

"It's time for you to go." His mind snapped back to the present, his eyes glancing at the clock. "Elena's going to be here in ten minutes and knowing her it will be three unless she stops for coffee on the way over, then it will be six."

"I'd give you my number but I have this feeling you won't use it anyway." She buttoned her blouse back up and smiled tightly. "You don't seem like the guy that calls a girl after sex."

"I only call them for sex." He waggled his eyebrows at her, handing her the black skirt. "Can you hurry up? Elena's going to torture me whole day if she finds you here."

"Already done." She grabbed her purse from the chair and started walking to the front door. "I'll see you around, Damon."

"Maybe."

He pulled the door open and was met with the big brown eyes, her brown hair draped around her face in big curls, her hand raised in the air prepared to knock. He saw her eyes move from his face to Andie's, scanning her body from head to toe, inspecting every little detail about the woman. She always did this whenever she met one of his one-night stands; it was as if she needed to compare every one of them with herself.

"I guess she didn't stop for coffee." Andie smiled tightly and stepped through the door past Elena. "Bye, Damon."

"Bye." He moved his gaze from the back of Andie's head to Elena's amused expression. "Don't give me that look."

"Whore."

"I knew you were going to say that." He rolled his eyes and pushed the door shut behind her. "You really need to come up with something else."

"Get in the shower, Damon." She placed the garment bag she was carrying on the couch and turned back to him. "We're going to be late because of your libido."

"Like you care." He clicked his tongue, shrugging indifferently. "You hate these kinds of things."

"Not when my grandmother's coming."

"This boring fundraiser just turned into an adventure."

"Yes it did." Her brown eyes shimmered while she crossed her arms over her chest. "So get ready because we're going to dance, eat all the desserts and watch my grandmother argue with my mother."

He couldn't help but to shake his head at her and step onto the platform to his bedroom; she followed him and took the small make-up bag with her into the bathroom while he pulled his pants off and grabbed the shampoo from the shelf, watching her apply her make-up in the mirror.

"You don't need that stuff." He stepped under the beads of water. "You're beautiful."

"Caroline will kill me if I don't wear it."

"I'll kill Caroline if she forced you to wear it." He smiled smugly, running his hand through his damp hair. "And it will be my pleasure."

She looked up in the mirror, locking her eyes with the blue ones, tingles spreading across her body as the water drops ran down his body, his hands gliding over his muscled abs. She couldn't help but to turn around and let her eyes linger, her skin itching to have his skin against hers, her body trembling with anticipation.

"Come into the shower and I'll let you touch me."

"We don't have time for that." She walked closer to the shower glass. "I wish we had though."

"Get in the shower, Elena."

"No." She crossed her arms stubbornly, glaring at him. "I spend an hour doing my hair; I'm not going to ruin it."

"You sure?"

"You're not the only one who can torture the other, you know?" She started unbuttoning her blouse. "I can do just the same to you."

She stepped in front of the glass and locked her eyes with his, smirking playfully. His blue eyes widened as she slowly let her blouse fall over her shoulders to her arms and from there to the ground beneath her. He cocked his head to the side and pouted his lips in approval of the black lacy bra she was wearing. She eyed him dangerously and slowly undid the button of her jeans, revealing the matching black lacy panties while she slowly stepped out of the jeans.

"Is it already bothering you that you're on the other side of the glass?" She bit her lip and pointed her chin to his twitching member. "Because it's certainly already bothering him."

"He's happy when he sees flesh." Damon rolled his eyes at her. "Don't take too much pride in it."

"He's smiling." She waved at his waistline, grinning like a fool. "Do you want to come here to Mommy?"

"You're a troll."

"That's a compliment of the highest order on Tumblr."

"Tumblr's the website with the moving pictures, right?"

"They're called gifs." She rolled her eyes in annoyance, huffing. "And they're pretty."

"How can they be pretty if they always make you cry?"

"Because they're so pretty that they make me cry." She pouted at the thought, her eyebrows frowning together. "I wish I could make them so pretty."

"I don't get it."

"That's why you would never be a good fangirl."

He shook his head in amusement and turned around to the tiled wall, his bare back and bottom on display for her eyes. The craving to have his body pressed against hers came back to the surface, not able to wait a few hours until she would be in bed next to him with their limbs entangled. And that would only be if he didn't meet a girl at the fundraiser, someone he wanted to take home and show a good time, then she would end up in the apartment she shared with Caroline and Bonnie, alone in her bed, thinking about how she could be the one holding him at night.

"What's going on in that pretty head of yours?"

She jumped as he suddenly stood next to her, snapping her mind back to reality. Her eyes moved over his toned chest, water drops running down to the towel that was wrapped around his waist; she looked back up and found his blue eyes staring at her, inspecting her black lacy underwear.

"I was wondering which earrings I should wear." She walked back to the bathroom unit and grabbed the two pairs of earrings. "Long or short?"

"Long."

"Okay." She started putting the long earrings on and smiled as he nudged her out of the way. "You think they'll talk to us?"

"Do we care if they talk to us?" He turned to her, arching his eyebrow. "We're not going for our parents; we're going because Elijah wants me to talk to some potential clients."

"But we'll be forced to sit at the same table as them." She jumped on the counter in front of him. "Because the Salvatores and Gilberts are best friends."

"Well, aren't we?" He blinked his eyelashes at her, tickling her sides. "I thought we always were."

"We are." She wrapped her arms around his neck, locking their eyes. "And our parents are so it's kind of right."

"We'll be fine."

"Yeah, we will be."

He smiled softly before leaning in to kiss her lips. She pulled him closer with her arms still wrapped around his neck and softly pressed her mouth against his, feeling his lips part underneath her touch. She chuckled softly as he opened her legs for him and stepped between them, pressing himself against her core. Her tongue entered his mouth and was surrounded by a warm heat that made her moan. He started sucking softly on her tongue and started purring under her touch.

"Damon?"

"God, no." Damon pulled away from her, growling as he heard Stefan's voice. "I didn't lock the door."

"How are we supposed to protect our kingdom when you don't secure the gate?" She hopped off the counter and rolled her eyes. "I'll receive our guest."

Damon's eyes flickered dangerously and he shook his head, laughing. She sent him an evil glare and walked out the bathroom through the bedroom. She came to the edge of the platform and locked her eyes with Stefan's green ones. His mouth fell open as soon as he saw her, his eyes scanning up and down her body before he composed himself and turned away, muttering an apology. It was that apology that made her look down and scan her body, realizing in that moment why Damon had laughed at her; she was still only wearing the lacy black underwear. It took the dirty laugh that came from behind her to snap her back to reality.

"You asshole!" She turned around, punching Damon's chest with both her fists. "You could have warned me."

"It's not my fault that you're so comfortable around me." He waggled his eyebrows, scanning her body. "Or that you're more often naked than dressed when you're with me."

She gave him one last punch; putting all her strength in it before turning back to the living room and Stefan that still stood with his back towards them. She grabbed the garment bag from the couch and walked past Damon into the bathroom, bumping into his shoulder while he still stood there laughing.

"You can stop acting like you didn't enjoy that." Damon got off the platform and walked towards his brother. "We both know that's what you wanted to see all along."

"Don't start again, Damon."

"She looks good, doesn't she?" He bit his lip, cocking his head to the side. "Just imagine that body on top of you, I bet it gets you hard just thinking about it."

"Damon." Stefan clenched his teeth together, looking uncomfortable. "Stop it."

"She loves it when you kiss her stomach, from her navel down to paradise." He chuckled softly as Stefan clenched his hands into fists next to his sides. "And it is paradise, brother. Believe me, I've been there plenty of times."

"I'm surprised you still notice the difference after all the women you've had." Stefan's hard eyes locked with Damon's shimmering ones. "I thought by now they would all look the same to you."

"Not Elena, little bro." He pushed his finger into Stefan's chest, shaking his head. "She's better than any wet dream you've ever had, she's certainly the best I ever had."

"Then why do you still sleep with other women?"

"Because otherwise it would seem like we're in a relationship." Damon shrugged indifferently. "And we are not in a relationship, I don't do relationships anymore."

"Your last relationship is back in town." Stefan smiled smugly, watching Damon's expression. "She'll be at the fundraiser."

"That will be interesting."

"What will be interesting?"

Elena came from behind the frosted glass, wearing the black dress that hugged all of her curves and stopped mid-thigh. Damon had to swallow the lump in his throat as he watched the beauty in front of him. Her long brown hair was curled and fell around her face; she wore little make-up but it made him even more aware of her big brown eyes; the black heels on her feet made her long tanned legs look even longer than when they were wrapped around his waist.

She had always been beautiful; he had watched her grow up from a child to a teenager and with every year she gained, she seemed to become more beautiful. The day he took her virginity he had held the most beautiful girl in the world in his arms; months later when he held her again like that he could only conclude that she had become even more beautiful. Five years later there was no one that could top her beauty, and he didn't know why he still bothered to look at other women; they were a disappointment to his eyes, they'd never have those big brown eyes or the brown silky hair, the cute dimples that grew on her face when she laughed. He didn't know what he had done to deserve her, to find her and to get to keep her in his life, she was beautiful in mind and body and what made her even more beautiful was the fact that she wasn't even aware of it.

"To see how Stefan's going to ask the girl out that he's been pining after for all this time."

"There's a girl?" Elena's eyes lit up, a smile gracing her features. "Tell me."

"No." Stefan exchanged a look with Damon and sighed. "There's no girl."

"You're lying." She stomped her foot, glaring at him. "Tell me, did you kiss yet?"

"Elena." Damon whined, rolling his eyes. "They haven't even been on a date yet."

"You don't go on a date before you kiss."

"But Stefan isn't as cool as me."

"I'm right here." Stefan gave the both of them an annoyed look. "Do not insult me when I'm standing in your apartment."

"Why are you even here?" Damon scoffed, arching his eyebrow. "I thought you'd have been licking Dad's shoes by now at the fundraiser."

"Our parents sent a limo." Stefan smiled warmly, looking at Elena. "I know how much you like limousines."

"You make me sound so shallow." She put her hands on her hips, her serious expression changing into a hopeful one while her gaze moved to Damon's. "Can we take the limo, pretty please?"

"Arriving at the fundraiser in a car my parents paid for?" He pretended to be enthusiastic. "I don't think so, but you can ride with Stefan."

"Damon." She whined, clasping her hands together. "Please?"

"No." He came closer and tapped her nose. "You go with Stefan, I'll come after you."

"They'll probably have had me as an appetizer before you arrive."

"I don't hear you complain when I eat you..." He lowered his voice once he received an evil glare. "...out."

"Okay." She raised her voice, turning to Stefan and grabbing his arm. "I'm coming with you."

"Be good." Damon yelled after them as they walked to the door. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

"Which means we can have meaningless sex in the back of the limo."

"You don't have to be so snarky about it."

"We're leaving!"

"Use a condom!"

* * *

"So you finally went for the Salvatore they did offer you on a silver plate." The high pitched voice made Elena turn around. "Hi Elena, I'd say it's nice to see you again but I would be lying."

"And I would be offended." She crossed her arms over her chest, smirking. "Hello Katherine."

"Did you finally realize that Damon would never go for you?" Katherine's green eyes traveled up and down her body. "Or did he use you and throw you away like his other toys?"

"He threw you away too." She cocked her head to the side, glaring. "I thought Katherine Pierce would never be someone's toy."

"We both know he was my toy." Katherine curled her long black hair around her finger. "And he was more than my toy; he became my fiancé, something you weren't very pleased with if I remember correctly."

This was the woman that had burned her best friend; she had made him the man he was today. She could still remember the days when Damon would have gladly settled down with the woman he loved; start a family and have a dog running in the yard, but that all changed when Katherine Pierce came along. He had been blinded by her looks, by the witty remarks and the mind-blowing sex; he didn't see what she saw. The cold personality that hid in Katherine, the woman that would never give him the children he wanted, or the family he craved. She and her family were after his money, the money of his family, because he was the eldest, he was the one that would get the firm after Giuseppe passed away. But Katherine didn't foresee one thing, the girl that watched over her best friend with hawk eyes; that would claw her eyes out when she didn't treat him the way he was supposed to be loved. And in the end, she was the reason why the engagement was called off; it was something her parents or Damon's parents never forgave her for, but she didn't regret it, she still didn't.

"At least I succeeded in keeping him for fifteen years." She pouted her lips together. "I remember you were gone after two years."

"Everyone takes you for this innocent girl that chose the wrong path," Katherine had a little smile on her lips, clearly amused. "But you're not so innocent when it comes to Damon, are you?"

"I want him to be happy." She looked down at the floor, biting her lip. "And you are not what makes him happy."

"And you are?" Katherine started walking backwards into the crowd. "Take my advice Elena, marry Stefan like they always wanted you to because Damon will never give you what you want."

She took a deep breath as Katherine turned around and disappeared into the crowd, her long red dress swaying across the floor. Her eyes scanned the room, noticing the draped curtains, people dancing and laughing, families talking. She grew up at these sort of things, knew probably everyone in this room and yet standing here; she had never felt so alone. She was the lost daughter of the Gilbert family now, the one that chose the wrong path; people would rather be dead than to talk to her. It didn't matter which dress she wore, how nice she looked or how expensive her jewelry was, she wasn't part of the club anymore, she only still carried the name because they couldn't take it away from her, no matter how hard they tried.

"Aren't you the prettiest thing I've ever seen?" The husky whisper reached her ears, warm arms wrapping around her waist. "What does this amazing body of yours think about a quickie in the bathroom?"

"This body thinks you're an hour late." She turned around in his embrace, locking her brown eyes with the blue ones. "You better have a damn good excuse."

"Something came up."

"I'm sure I know what came up." She grabbed his crotch, making him cringe. "You do not leave me alone for an hour in a room with our parents because little Damon decides he wants to go for a walk."

"Elena, are you familiar with the term blue balls?" He whined, grabbing her hand that was still squeezing his crotch tightly. "Because it's not pretty, believe me."

"Does it hurt?" She tightened her grip, watching the pained expression on his face. "Good."

"Damon?" Elijah's voice made Elena let go of Damon. "What happened to you?"

"He's been bad." Elena turned around to Elijah and watched Damon search for support against the wall. "That was punishment."

"I wish you gave me the kind of punishment I enjoy." Damon pushed his forehead against the wall, holding his crotch. "Damn, I didn't know you had so many muscles in those tiny arms."

"Did you already tell him?"

Elena's eyes snapped from Elijah's gray ones to the door where Alaric and Mason came running through. She chuckled softly at the worried expressions on their faces and watched the frown appear on Damon's face. Although the two men grew up together with her and Damon, she had never been as close to them as she was to Damon. She let them use her as their little sister but that didn't mean she bonded with them until the day she left with Damon and even Bonnie and Caroline refused to talk to her for months. They welcomed her into the big boys' club and taught her how to drink and smoke like real men. Elijah was not only their boss but the one that watched over them and her, he was the one that made sure they got home safely with their pants still on and their money in their pockets.

"Tell me what?" Damon pushed himself off the wall, slowly standing up. "I don't like those smiles on your faces."

"We're a bachelor short." Elijah spoke up, directing his gaze at Damon. "Since you weren't here, you pulled the short straw and you get to spend your night with the richest horny woman in town."

"You're kidding me, right?" Damon looked horrified, his eyes glancing to all of their faces. "This is even too sick to be funny."

"I'm not kidding." Elijah shook his head in amusement. "You're being sold for the highest bid."

"At least you won't feel cheap after you had sex with her." Elena bit her lip to hold back her laughter. "It might make you feel better."

"Do you know what kind of women bid on those bachelors?" His eyes went wide. "They're at least twice my age and they look like dragons."

"You were obsessed with dragons when you were fourteen." She shrugged indifferently, a smile growing on her face. "It might bring back some happy childhood memories."

"I'm glad you find happiness in my misery."

She clasped her hand over her mouth to hide her smile while she walked past the three men into the ballroom. Her eyes quickly scanned over the table seating and found her name at the bottom. She sighed and started walking towards the end of the ballroom, feeling a hand being placed on the small of her back.

"Just remember that they're a bunch of idiots who have nothing better to do than to hate their children for having an opinion." He placed a quick kiss on her temple. "Whatever they say, I have your back. Okay?"

"And I have yours." She placed a kiss on his cheek, wrapping her arm around his back. "Just don't leave me alone to go fuck a waitress."

"Already checked them out." He nudged her side, smirking devilishly. "I think I'm going home with you."

"Wrong, Casanova." She chuckled, her eyes shimmering. "You're going home with the one that spends the most money on you."

"Don't remind me of it."

"Stud!"

"At least someone's happy to see me." Damon laughed warmly as the older lady came running from their table. "Hi Betty."

"You two are late." Betty's brown eyes glared at them before she wrapped Damon in a hug and squeezed him tightly. "How do you get more handsome every time I see you?"

"Your eyesight gets worse every time you see him." Elena interrupted whatever Damon was going to say and wrapped her arms around the older lady. "Hi Grandma, it's good to see you."

"My beautiful granddaughter."

Elena hugged the woman that had practically raised her. Her parents had never been really present in her life, neither had Damon's; so her grandmother practically raised the two of them and their brothers. She was the one that tucked them into bed and prepared breakfast in the morning before she drove them to school. Family was everything to the older woman once her husband Frank Gilbert had died twenty years ago, Elena didn't have any memories with her grandfather but from what she heard, her grandmother and grandfather had been completely in love, the kind of love that never dies. And when Frank died, they thought it wouldn't be long before they lost her too, but the truth had been something very different. She became a full-time parent to her grandchildren, and when five years later she noticed how absent the Salvatores were in their children's lives, she took Stefan and Damon under her wing and raised them with the same love she raised her own grandchildren.

"You're still as beautiful as the day I met you, Betty." Damon patted her shoulder. "Where did you find the fountain of youth?"

"And you, Stud." She pointed her finger at him, her brown eyes shimmering. "Are still as much of a charmer as the day you discovered it had girls opening their legs for you."

"I believe you were the one who taught me."

"And I'm damn proud of it." Her white curls bounced as she chuckled a warm laugh. "Come on, I ordered for the both of you."

The laugh disappeared from Elena's face as her grandmother turned around and motioned for them to follow her to their table. Damon gave her a look and placed his hand back on her back, pushing her towards the table of doom.

"Elena." Jeremy stood up once he saw her, wrapping his arms around her. "Finally, you're here."

"I didn't know you were going to be here." She hugged him back, doing a little dance. "It's so good to see you, you have to tell me everything about New York."

"Hello people." Damon sat down next to Stefan and watched around the table, noticing everyone turn their heads away from him. "Well at least you won't ask me for a picture or an autograph, I can live with that."

"Your ego is already big enough." Stefan turned to him once everyone started talking again. "They just don't want to make it any bigger."

"You and I need to have a talk." Damon crossed his arms on the table, hearing Elena giggle with Jeremy beside him. "Why was Elena standing on her own in the hallway?"

"Dad dragged me with him and she wanted to wait for you." He shrugged, shaking his head. "She's a big girl Damon, she can stand on her own in a hallway."

"I give you an hour with her and you leave her behind in the hallway?" He clenched his teeth together. "You do not under any circumstances leave Elena alone in a place where our parents can get to her without backup."

"She was fine."

"And you're damn lucky that she is." His blue eyes went wide. "Next time you take her with you, you stay with her. Got it?"

"Got it."

"Damon." Elena sing-songed, shaking his arm. "It's time for the auction."

"God, no." He sighed defeated, noticing Elijah motioning for him. "Don't let Ric or Mason speak at my funeral, will you?"

"I promise I'll write you a great eulogy." She pulled him towards her and kissed him briefly. "Let's see how much you're worth."

He got up and she followed him with her eyes, watching all the bachelors line up in front of the stage. All the women gathered in front of the platform and she couldn't help but to stand up and watch Damon from the back of the room, keeping her eyes on him at all times.

"You still look at him like the first day you saw him."

"How's that?"

"Like you have a million questions in your head and he's the answer to every single one of them." Betty wrapped her arm protectively around Elena's shoulders. "How are you doing? It's been so long since I've heard from you."

"I'm good." She smiled, nodding. "I'm busy with school and I still work at that bar in town so I've been busy, I wanted to call you but I always get home around midnight."

"You and Damon can call me anytime." Betty rubbed her back soothingly. "I just get worried when I don't hear from the two of you."

"We'll stop by sometime soon." Elena locked her eyes with Betty's brown ones. "I promise."

"Good." Betty's eyes moved to the stage, locking onto Damon's form. "God, that man is really something, isn't he?"

"You're as much in love with him as any other woman in this room."

"Not as much as you are." Betty's eyes locked back onto hers. "Are there still other girls?"

"Yeah..."

"Give it time." Betty squeezed her hand, holding it in hers. "It was the first time in his life he got hurt, it's going to take a while before he gets over it."

"Sometimes I wonder what I'll do if he never gets over it." She bit her lip, looking down at the hard wooden floor. "What if he keeps on fucking every girl he meets?"

"Then you'll have to make a choice."

"And I'll choose him." She shook her head in disbelief. "He lost everything because he put his trust in me, he's not going to lose me too because I made him like this."

"He chose to become this, Elena." Betty's wise eyes looked up at her. "You did the right thing by telling him what you knew and as much as your parents might hate me for saying this, you did the right thing by going with him."

"But my life would have been so much easier if I hadn't." She looked up to see the bachelor before Damon on stage, women screaming their bids. "My family would still accept me, people wouldn't give me dirty looks when I walk across the street, I would be able to concentrate on school instead of worrying about money."

"But would you be happy?"

"Probably not." She laughed nervously, locking her eyes with Damon's blue ones. "I have more memories with him than with my parents. They're not all good but he was more there when I grew up than my parents ever were."

"Do you remember what you told me the first day you saw him?"

"No."

"You said, Granny that's the most beautiful boy I've ever seen." Betty laughed warmly at the memory. "That changed twenty minutes later when he started pulling on your ponytails."

"And still we became friends." Elena chuckled, shaking her head in amusement. "Who would have thought?"

"It was a Sunday when I figured it out, you were wearing your white dress to go to church and your mother told you a hundred times not to get dirty." Betty looked deep in thoughts, staring right in front of her. "I only know that when we were ready to leave, we found you and Damon in a pool of mud and you claimed he pulled you in it but I always believed you jumped in right after him, and that's the day I figured it out."

"What did you figure out?"

"That's the day I figured out that Damon Salvatore was going to be trouble." She laughed and shook her head once Damon got on stage. "And he hasn't disappointed me a day since then."

"I don't remember that."

"Of course you don't." Betty eyed her warily, smiling. "You'd never admit that you jumped in it by yourself."

"It's Damon's turn." She pointed to the stage, changing the subject. "How much do you think he's worth?"

"Do you really want him to go home with one of those desperate women?"

"I've watched him do it every day for the past five years." Her mouth formed a hard line. "I think I can handle another one."

"Why don't we change that?" Betty waved her hand in the air, yelling. "Five thousand!"

"What are you doing?"

"I'm the richest woman in town, honey." Betty smiled smugly. "Besides, it's for charity."

"I can't believe this."

"Ten thousand!" Betty jumped up in the air, making Damon laugh on stage. "God, how desperate are those women?"

"You should see yourself." Elena's eyes went wide. "You're not much better than them."

"Well but if I buy Damon for the night, I'll have you too." She stood on tiptoes, watching over the crowd. "You two are like a package deal."

"You can get us for free."

"But then how will I spend my money?" Betty shrugged indifferently. "Okay, let's get this over with."

"What do you mean let's get this over with?"

"Fifty thousand!" Betty couldn't help but to laugh as whole the room went silent and looked at her. "That got them quiet."

* * *

"I'm worth fifty thousand dollars."

"You did wonders for his ego, Grandma." Elena rolled her eyes, looking away. "I'll be hearing this for months."

"Oh honey." Betty patted her shoulder. "I'm sure you'll think of a way to shut him up."

"I can think of a few." Damon waggled his eyebrows at her and turned back to Betty. "Are you a fox like your granddaughter in bed?"

"Damon!"

"Don't worry, Elena." Betty shook her head, squeezing her fingers. "I'm not your mother, I know what happened the night of your prom, I saw you two get back in the morning while mister Salvatore here should have been in New York with his wife-to-be."

"You knew that all this time?" She crossed her arms over her chest, narrowing her eyes at her grandmother. "Why did you never say something?"

"What's a dirty little secret if someone else knows?"

"I can't believe you." She clasped her hand over her mouth. "Are you sure we're related?"

"Your father and my son, used to be a hell of a lot more fun before he met your mother." Betty's eyes went dull. "He used to remind me so much of Frank but the day he met your mother that all changed."

"Do you think they'll ever accept us again?" Elena whispered, exchanging a look with Damon. "It's been five years, will they ever let it go?"

"I think something bad has to happen before they'll realize how lucky they are that the two of you are alive and healthy." Betty rubbed Elena's arm, squeezing it. "You know I'm proud of you for being so strong, I'm more proud of you than I ever was of my son."

"I know." She nodded quietly, locking her eyes with Damon's blue ones. "We'll be fine with the two of us, won't we?"

"Yeah..." His voice was husky, his eyes boring intensely into hers. "We always have been."

"It's getting too cold for this old lady." Betty pointed her head to the front door of her home. "I should get inside."

"Goodnight, Grandma."

"Goodnight, sweetie." Betty pecked her cheek quickly and rubbed Damon's arm affectionately. "Bring my granddaughter safely home, Stud."

"I'll even tuck her in." He placed a kiss on Betty's cheek and watched her move towards the front door. "Goodnight, Grandma."

"Goodnight my boy."

Elena watched the scene in front of her with a tingling stomach. There had always been something special between her grandmother and Damon; it was as if the older woman knew that he would never let anything happen to her, that she trusted him with her most valuable possession. They were raised the same way as Jeremy and Stefan but yet Betty always taught them one lesson more, you always take care of your loved ones, it was something she had told her and Damon more than Stefan and Jeremy, because she seemed to know that one day the only person they would depend on was the other.

"You want to walk through the park?" Damon draped his jacket over her shoulders and took her hand in his. "Or straight home?"

"Let's go through the park." She leaned her head against his shoulder, placing her hand on his arm. "I want to see the fountain."

He pressed his cheek against her forehead and slowly dragged her with him into the direction of the park. Moments like these were rare, the moments where she could imagine him as the perfect boyfriend, when he took her home, held her protectively in his arms and placed soft kisses on top of her head because he knew how she was feeling. It was everything she wanted them to be, just the two of them snuggled up on the couch, waking up next to each other every morning without knowing he had been with another girl the night before.

"I've been thinking." He whispered quietly against her forehead, his lips moving against her skin. "I think you should go on a date with Stefan."

"What?" She looked up at him, a huge grin on her face. "Where did that come from?"

"Earlier when I said Stefan was going to man up and ask the girl he likes on a date, I meant you." His blue eyes bored into hers, more serious than she had ever seen them. "He likes you Elena and he's a good guy, you'd be good together."

"Why would I want to go on a date with Stefan?" She pulled her hand out of his, crossing them over her chest. "They wanted me to marry him and I didn't want that then so why would I want that now?"

"I'm not telling you to marry him." He threw his arms up, his blue eyes going wide. "But how long has it been since you've been on a date?"

"I hate dating and you know it." She walked a couple of feet in front of him. "I only go on dates because Caroline and Bonnie force me to."

"But you want a family." He grabbed her arm and made her turn around. "You can't start a family on your own."

"You told me not to settle." She pulled her arm free out of his grasp and walked to the fountain. "Stefan would be settling."

"I don't think so, Elena." He shrugged, biting his bottom-lip. "He loves you and he would take care of you and give you children."

"But I don't love him." Her hard brown eyes locked onto his blue ones. "Doesn't it matter who I love?"

His ocean blue eyes lost their shimmer and he couldn't keep staring at her anymore. Sometimes she wondered if he didn't know the way she felt about him, that he knew that there would never be someone else. She always thought that was the reason why he never brought it up, because once she'd made a confession everything between them would change, he would be sure about her love and she would want to know about his feelings. But when things like this happened, he seemed to know that she had loved him all along, that he had owned her heart and soul since the day she met him. It was what scared her the most; if he knew and he still chose to sleep with other women it meant that her love wasn't enough for him, that after fifteen years of loving him he still couldn't bind himself to her.

"I never told you what I wished the last time I was at this fountain." She looked down in the blue water of the quiet fountain. "I wished the most horrible thing anyone could ever wish for."

"What was it?"

"I wished you wouldn't marry Katherine."

She still remember the day she stood here with tears in her eyes, her hair blowing in the wind, her cheeks red, her eyes puffy. It was the day she first read the announcement of his engagement. She still felt the pang in her heart as she thought about him being bound to another woman; it had ripped her apart inside out. So when she stood here in the place she shared so many memories with him, she couldn't help but to toss a coin into the water and wish for the most awful thing you could wish your best friend, she wished him heartbreak.

"I was so scared that I would lose you." She wiped away the tear that had escaped her eye. "Who's Elena Gilbert without Damon Salvatore? We were always a team and then suddenly you were going to be a team with someone else and I couldn't stand the thought of it."

"It's okay." He shook his head at her, cupping her cheek into his hand. "It wasn't your fault."

"But I wished it." She took his hand in hers, pushing her cheek into his palm. "What kind of friend does that make me?"

"The kind of friend that doesn't want to lose her best friend." He held his arms out to her and wrapped her safely into the cocoon. "I would have done the same if it was you."

"You wouldn't." She sobbed into his shirt, clawing onto him. "You would have wished me the best."

"I'm sorry about the whole Stefan thing." He placed a kiss on top of her head. "I just know that you want children and a husband more than anything."

"You're wrong." She looked up, shaking her head softly. "I want you."

"But..."

"Shh." She put her finger on his lips, kissing them softly. "I don't want anything else but to be with you in fifty years, that's what will make me happy. You and I forever, that's the only thing I need to be happy."

His lips parted slowly, his blue eyes boring into hers and she noticed him gently coming closer, his lips touching hers softly before pushing a little further until they melted together in a soft kiss. No one would be able to take this from her, not her parents, not Katherine, not Bonnie or Caroline, moments like these between them was what she lived for, his kisses, his touch, it was what had kept her going through the past five years. It was what would always keep her going.

"Let's steal some coins from the fountain." He breathed against her lips, leaning his forehead against hers. "It's been ages since we've done that."

"Damon." She pulled on his arm as he ran towards the fountain. "No."

"Come on." He dragged her with him. "Live a little, Elena."

She watched him as he pulled his shoes off and rolled his pants up, slowly getting into the fountain. She couldn't help but to shake her head at him and laugh while he started picking up coins from the bottom, his blue eyes shimmering as he looked up at her. It took him two seconds to grab her arm and pull her into the water with him, making her fall flat on her face into the cold liquid.

"Damon!" She started splashing water on him. "You ruined my dress!"

"It isn't the first time and it won't be the last time, babe."

"This is just like when I was nine and you pulled me into the mud with you."

"We both know you jumped in after me."

"I know."

* * *

**Please review!**

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	3. Chapter 3

Thank you all for going on this journey with me, especially thank you to the ones who took the time to review and shared their thoughts with me. & last but not least, thank you Lauren for being an amazing beta - as always & thank you Mirna for proofreading the smutty bits.

* * *

**The Choice**

Chapter 3

No one ever died from loving someone; no one was ever killed by being loved. It's only when a person is separated from love that it has the power to kill. It tears a soul apart, a heart wide open, and at the same time it closes. Because no heart that knew true love will ever accept a love that's less. No person that found true love will ever love again.

But what if the love you crave searches comfort in other women? What if he gave up on love years ago and claims never to love again? What if you wake up next to him almost every morning to see the sun rise in his blue eyes? What if the thought of leaving him tears you inside out? What if you could never love another man like this; completely, with all of you, unconditionally and without limits or doubts? If that love is never returned again by the only man you can love, will the friendship he gives you keep you alive, or will his broken heart kill you?

"Oh my god!"

Her phone slipped out of her hands as she quickly covered her eyes with them, her cheeks blushing a crimson red. The images of her naked friend hovering above an equally naked woman flashing through her mind, the sight of him buried into another body, the woman's legs wrapped around his waist, her fingers digging into his shoulders, his moans muffled in the crook of her neck, his hair messy from her clawing fingers.

"I'm so sorry." She held her hand in front of her eyes, uttering an apology. "I was texting and I... oh my god."

An amused chuckle made her peek through her fingers, finding Damon still draped over the other naked body. He didn't even seem the slightest bit annoyed by the interruption; instead he looked over his shoulder and arched his eyebrow at her, his lips turned up in an amused smile. The blonde beneath him looked up at her with the same grin on her face. It only made her feel sillier about her reaction; she had seen this man naked in front of her more times than she could count. Yet, finding him naked in bed with someone else made her feel like a little girl all over again, not like the experienced woman of her age that was now connected to him in ways she wanted to be with him all day long.

"I wanted to ask you if you need anything from the grocery store." Elena started turning around, walking back towards the door. "Don't worry, I already put condoms on the list, I know they are more important than milk in this household."

"Elena." Damon's voice made her pause in her step. "Come back here."

She took a deep breath and turned around again, sauntering to the opening that gave her access to the bedroom. Her brown eyes were fixed on the wall beside her as she reached the plateau. In the corner of her eye she found Damon sitting at the edge of the bed, the blonde beside him still on her back, waiting for him to take her again.

"Do you need anything?"

"Come here."

"Coffee, cookies, sugar?"

"I'm not planning on a tea party anytime soon." He let out a short laugh, getting up from the bed. "Come here."

Her face only started to heat up more as she stood nailed to the ground and he started walking towards her in all his glory. She knew it was foolish of her to feel more embarrassed with every step he took but that didn't keep her from jumping when he reached her and grabbed her arm. Her brown eyes flew to his blue ones, her lips parting in shock as he stood butt naked in front of her, his expression more serious than it had been a minute ago.

"Good morning, Elena."

"Hi."

She stumbled in his arms as he grabbed her waist and pulled her body flush against his, the sweat drops of his chest absorbed by the fabric of her tank top. He grabbed the bag she carried on her shoulder and slowly pulled it from her arm, dropping it next to him on the floor. Her eyes followed his every movement and watched his burning blue eyes closing the distance between their lips. She gasped into his mouth as he plastered it against hers and grabbed her waist, holding her captive in his embrace. The kiss felt familiar and yet so strange, his lips moved hungrily over hers, possessively, almost desperately but she couldn't shake the feeling of being watched. It made her briefly open her eyes and peek over his shoulder to the woman whose flesh lay on display for everyone's eyes.

A pang of jealousy shot straight through her heart as the blonde smirked at her, giving her a knowing look. That smugness made something boil inside of her, the little green monster running through her veins at the speed of a lightning bolt. She arched her body into Damon's, grabbing his head and pushing his nose against hers. He smirked before sliding his tongue between her lips, tasting the inside of her mouth with every time he met her tongue. Her hands wandered over his bare chest while his fingers tangled into her silk brown hair, his teeth tugging at her bottom lip.

The whole picture was about someone staking her claim, telling the woman on the bed that she would only be there once, that in a few hours she would make room for someone who lay there almost every night, who had the right to hold him in her arms while he slept, who was owned by him because he had made her his years ago.

"Get out of those clothes."

"What are we doing?"

"Something we should have done years ago."

Her eyes shot to the bed behind Damon, locking with the gray ones from the blond that still lay on it. And instead of the knowing look that the woman had sent her earlier, there was now a reassuring smile on her face, peaceful, her eyes filled with understanding but at the same time with anticipation, because she seemed to know what was coming.

"Trust me." Damon's hushed tone brought her eyes back to his beautiful face. "You're going to love this."

"I never had sex with anyone besides you." Her eyes glanced nervously to the bed. "I don't know how to do this."

"Just relax." He started tugging on her tank top, slowly lifting it up to her shoulders. "It's not like she'll put her penis inside of you."

"I don't even know her name."

"I'll let you in on a secret." He pulled the tank top over her head and brought his lips to her ear. "Me neither."

"Two minutes ago you were having sex with her!"

He shrugged indifferently and smirked dangerously at her, his blue eyes darkening as they traveled over the swells of her breasts to her flat stomach. She rolled her eyes in annoyance and watched as he reached behind her and undid her bra, the way he slowly slid the straps down her arms making goose-bumps appear on her skin. When he reached for the button of her black jeans, she looked down for the first time, her own doe eyes devouring his hard chest, the six-pack, his half erection. It made her tummy clench together, her palms getting sweaty with just the thought of how he felt inside of her.

Her eyes widened as he dropped to his knees, taking her jeans with him to the floor. She swallowed the lump in her throat and pulled her feet from the ground so he could remove the jeans from her body, leaving her behind in her black lacy panties. The woman on the bed leaned on her elbows, watching them interact, her big gray eyes fixed on her hardened nipples. She jumped up in surprise as Damon's mouth suddenly kissed the fabric of her panties, making her clit tremble under the warmth of his breathing.

"You're so beautiful."

His blue eyes stared up at her, boring right into hers. It was at moments like these, when she looked down in that ocean of blue, absolutely comfortably naked in front of him, that she remembered why she had chosen him, why she until this day never regretted that choice. As a little girl he became her friend, the one that got her into trouble. As she became a teenager he was there to keep her out of trouble until the age of sixteen and he became the trouble. It had taken a lot of innocent kisses from other boys to realize that there was always something wrong with them; they weren't funny enough, they didn't take her to the movies, they weren't tall enough, their eyes weren't blue enough.

It was exactly those blue eyes that made no other boy good enough, that were now spreading tingles all across her skin as he grabbed her panties and removed them the same way her jeans had come off. He kissed the inside of her thigh, making her tummy squeeze in anticipation. But instead of fulfilling her needs, he pecked his way up to her belly button, slowly, making her sinfully aware of the ache between her legs. His tongue slid over her hipbone to her stomach, moistening her skin, making her legs feel like jelly. He closed his mouth around her nipple, gently nibbling before letting it plop out of his mouth and kissing his way up, sucking on her collarbone. The ache between her legs increased with every single one of his touches, her entrance becoming wetter with every brush of his lips.

"Get on the bed."

She didn't know if it was his husky voice, dripping with want or the ache between her legs, begging for release that made her move, but suddenly her feet started moving forward towards the bed, to the woman that lay on it. The blonde pushed herself up gracefully, her gray eyes locking on her brown ones and glancing to Damon to exchange an amused smirk. She turned her head over her shoulder, finding Damon right beside her, his eyes fixed on her, his expression peaceful.

"Morning, Elena." The blonde's soft voice made her head snap back around. "I'm Melanie."

"Hi."

"It's nice meeting you." Melanie smiled, her gray eyes sparkling. "You wouldn't want to have sex with a stranger."

"No I wouldn't want that." She glared at Damon from out the corner of her eye. "It's nice meeting you too."

"Elena is a trio virgin." Damon crossed his arms over his chest, smiling smugly. "I think it's time we do something about that."

"You two are clearly experienced." Elena shook her head, her voice pitching. "I don't want to ruin the fun for you, I'll do something wrong and ruin this."

"You'll do fine, Elena." Melanie squeezed her arm, looking up at her. "There's not much you can do wrong, just make sure you feel comfortable and tell us what you want and don't want."

"It's not like we're going to eat you." Damon rolled his eyes at her, waggling his eyebrows. "Unless you want us to."

"I don't know how to do this."

"Just like this."

Damon stepped between her and Melanie, grabbing her waist to pull her against him, his mouth crashing down on hers, his teeth tugging at her bottom lip, his tongue slipping between her lips. Before she could deepen the kiss, he pulled away and as she opened her eyes, she found him and Melanie in the same position as they had been a few seconds ago. His arm slipped out from behind her waist and went to Melanie's chest, his hand cupping her breast and squeezing it gently. Melanie pulled away from him, her gray eyes opening to fall on her brown ones. They darkened as Melanie took a step towards hers, her face coming closer to hers until their noses touched and Melanie's tongue softly traced the contours of her lips, slipping into her heat, their mouths connecting.

In the last five years there had been no one else but Damon, no one else's taste in her mouth. It was weird, not only because she was kissing a woman, but because it didn't feel familiar like it usually did. She didn't know the pace they were falling in, she didn't know what Melanie liked, it was all foreign and yet exciting. The adrenaline rushed through her body, the blonde's hands resting on her hips, her own hands safely cupping Melanie's face so she could deepen their kiss. She got so lost into the new-found sensation that she gasped into Melanie's mouth when Damon draped her hair to one side and started attacking the skin on her neck and shoulder with kisses.

"Oh god." She threw her head back against Damon's shoulder. "Don't stop."

"We're just getting started." He breathed into her ear, cupping her breast.

His hands touched every piece of skin that he knew set her on fire; it was a weird contrast with Melanie's hands who wandered over her body to discover exactly what Damon already knew. She turned around in Damon's embrace, attacking his neck, nibbling, biting, sucking on his skin while he kissed Melanie over her shoulder, their bodies trapping her between them, all of their skins touching. Damon's damp chest was pressed against her own while Melanie's breasts moved against her back, her hardened nipples teasing her skin. Ten minutes ago she would have never thought that she'd ever be in this position, she'd have thought that she never wanted to be. But now she was here, being pleased by two people who obviously had studied the human anatomy, she couldn't remember anymore why she never wanted to be between them.

"Lie down." Melanie's hoarse breath came from behind her. "Lie down and let me ride you."

Damon broke free out of her embrace and she immediately missed the contact between their skins, having her comfort against her, having that other part of her soul just on the other side of her chest. Her eyes followed him as he lay down on the bed, his naked body on display for her eyes to devour. Melanie slowly walked over to him, stretching her leg over his waist, straddling him. The green monster inside of her started his marathon again as soon as the blonde lowered her face and started kissing his chest, her long polished nails leaving marks on Damon's skin.

"Come here."

Elena grabbed Damon's hand as he extended it to her and let him pull her closer to the bed, so close that she stumbled over the edge and on top of him. He moaned and she didn't have to look to his waist to know what Melanie was doing there, she could hear the sound of Melanie's sucking and moaning, a plopping sound coming from her lips that moved up and down his shaft. Instead she crawled over him, ignoring the blonde that was pleasing him in a way she wasn't skilled enough to do. Her hand reached out to touch his chest, his blue eyes flying open to meet hers, a small smile playing on his lips before he leaned forward, grabbing the back of her neck to pull her mouth against his. She chuckled softly against his lips and scooted closer towards him, stretching her leg over his chest, sitting on top of his stomach while Melanie started crawling on top of him, ready to ride him.

Damon's body arched beneath her as Melanie slid his member into her, his blue eyes fluttering, his teeth scraping his bottom lip, a look of pure pleasure on his face.

Fifteen years ago, the day she met him, she could have never guessed what he would become to her, what they would become to her. He became her world, the air she breathed, the blood that kept her heart beating. He came into her life as her enemy, turned into her friend, guardian, brother and at some point he became both her parents until the night of the prom where he became her lover, something she had been waiting for for years. He finally made them one, in the process conquering that one little piece of her heart that wasn't yet owned by him, giving her that part of her soul she had been searching for, becoming the only man she'd ever love.

"Elena."

He breathed her name, almost desperately while she kept on pushing her lips against his, her core brushing over his stomach with every kiss, making her clit tingle, leaving a small path of her juices behind on his chest. His lips pushed harder against her once he noticed what she was doing, his hand reaching around her so his fingers could tease her entrance. She sighed once he separated her nether lips and started stroking the wetness from her entrance to her clit, his finger occasionally dipping inside of her, sending a rush of heat through her whole body.

"That feels good."

She grabbed his black raven hair for support, his finger thrusting in and out of her, Melanie's moans of pleasure in the background, Damon breathing against her mouth, his body arching beneath her as he felt his own pleasure build up higher and higher. He growled as Melanie dug her nails into his hips, almost reaching her climax. Elena bit her lip as he added another finger to her core, the sound of his fingers thrusting in her wetness filling her world.

"God." Melanie fell spent against her back, pressing kisses down her spine. "Yes."

The blonde let herself fall to the side, next to them on the mattress, licking her lips, her eyes distant but at the same time shimmering, like she was in another world. Elena sat up again, finding Damon doing the same so she sat across his lap, but instead of pinning her on him like she expected him to, he flipped them over, kissing a path from her collarbone to her hipbone.

"Come on, honey." Damon pulled Melanie back up, setting her on her knees. "The show isn't over yet."

Elena looked up from her place on the pillow as he put Melanie on her knees in front of her, the woman's look still completely dazed by her previous orgasm. Elena's eyes widened as Melanie grabbed her legs, placing each one of her ankles on her shoulders, her mouth closing around her heated core. She didn't realize what was happening to her until she saw Damon nestle himself in Melanie again, Melanie's head bobbing against her pubic bone with every one of his thrusts.

Damon gave her a look, trying to reassure her and for some reason it managed to settle her down, letting her enjoy Melanie's tongue that worked its magic on her. She let herself fall back against the pillow, having Damon as a view to look up to while Melanie traced each of her nether lips with the tip of her tongue, making shivers run down her spine. The blonde's tongue circled around her clit, teasing her, making her body arch from the mattress, sharing a look with Damon who was equally moaning in pleasure. The pleasure became so much that she tangled her fingers in Melanie's blond locks, guiding her in her movements, encouraging the stranger to go on.

"Fuck."

She cried out as Melanie's tongue slipped inside her damp core, the ache between her legs finally exploding, sending shivers through her whole body, making sweat drops appear between her breasts, making her skin tingle, her body convulsing.

Apparently, seeing her lose herself made Melanie come for a second time, Damon pressing kisses down her back until she was done shaking above Elena's legs. The blonde crawled to the side, snuggling her nose into the pillow beside her, completely spent. Damon removed the condom from his length and reached beside them in the night table. She watched him as he rolled the new condom over his member and supported his weight on his arms that rested beside her head.

"This will have to be quick." He pushed his lips against her, chuckling softly. "I don't know how much longer I can keep it up."

"God, I want you inside of me."

Her body arched up from the mattress once he slipped inside of her, finally filling her, making them one, giving her the other part of her soul. She quickly wrapped her legs around his waist, locking her ankles so she could get him closer, deeper inside of her, his skin against hers, exactly what she needed in this moment, the comfort of him being hers.

His nose brushed up and down against hers with every thrust, his blue eyes locked on hers, not even moving as she saw his face move in an expression she knew all too well, the years of being with him that told her that he was almost there. Those years with him rushed through her head, like every time they were like this; the first time she ever saw him, the first smile he gave her, the first hug. It was all carved into her mind, everything they went through to be able to stay together, to make each other smile the day after the next, to be able to love the only family they had left. It was all she could think about as her walls started to pulse around him, meeting their perfect fit.

"Fuck, babe."

"Damon."

He fell on top of her, his body covering hers, their sweat drops mingling, their breathings filling the same small space, their chests panting against one another. It wasn't until Damon recovered slightly, that he was able to pull out of her, throwing the condom next to the other one on the ground. He sighed and moved between the two girls on the bed; Melanie in the meantime recovered from the orgasm, Elena still very much in it.

"I think it's time for me to go."

"I'll walk you out."

Melanie got up from the bed but Elena couldn't pay much attention to it while her body was still humming, her mind still in paradise. She felt Damon move off the bed next to her and saw him pick up the condoms from the floor. Once Melanie was dressed and ready to go, Elena offered her a quiet goodbye and turned on her side, burying her nose into the pillow, Damon's scent still very much lingering there.

Her eyelids struggled to stay open, her body drained, her mind lost in the fog that seemed to surround her. The mattress moved beneath her, Damon's masculine smell hugging her, his finger tracing a lazy pattern over her back. A shiver ran down her spine before she turned around on her back, placing her hand on her forehead, turning her face towards Damon. A turmoil of emotions went through her as she looked up at him, finding his hands behind his head, his blue eyes staring at her, the memories and feelings of just five minutes ago swerving around in her mind.

"You know that sometimes I ask you to do really stupid things?" She breathed, locking her brown eyes with the blue ones. "But you do them because you know I'm crazy but you find it completely adorable?"

"Yeah..."

"Pinch me."

"What?"

"Hit me."

"Make up your mind."

"Do both."

"You've lost it, Gilbert." He shook his head in amusement, arching his eyebrow. "That amazing orgasm I gave you must have blown your brains out."

"It feels like there's electricity running through my body." She sighed into the air, enjoying the way her body was still humming. "If you touch me now you might get electrocuted."

"You think my phone will charge if I put it into your vagina?"

"Depends on the voltage, I guess."

"I could put it on vibrate and take your phone." He shrugged like they were discussing the most random topic. "We could get seriously kinky."

Her eyes traveled over his chest, noticing the red scars Melanie had left there. Her face heated up again as she remembered Melanie's tongue on her, the blonde hair sticking up from between her legs, the woman's lips sucking on the most intimate part of her. Damon's blue eyes looking down at her, seeing her every reaction to the stranger's touches.

"Damon?" She pulled her hand from her forehead, looking up at him in wonder. "Were we really in a threesome?"

"Uh huh." He turned on his side, pushing himself up on his elbow. "How do you feel about that?"

"It's weird, it's like it happened to someone else and I just dreamed about it." She let out a short laugh, shaking her head. "In the beginning I was so scared of doing something wrong but then you started kissing me and she started kissing me..."

"You were absolutely amazing." He tugged a loose strand of hair back behind her ear. "You always are."

"Why now?" Her brown eyes bored into his blue ones. "It's not the first time I've walked in on you."

"I don't know." He shrugged indifferently, glancing over her head. "Probably because women were the only thing we didn't share yet."

"We don't share everything."

"You wear my underwear."

"You don't wear mine." She smirked, her eyes narrowing. "Besides, you practically never wear any underwear."

"Let's rephrase that," He shook his head at her, tapping her nose. "We share everything I own."

"Can I wear your boxers to class this afternoon?"

"You still have class?" He eyed her suspiciously. "What time?"

"Two." She scooted closer to him, nuzzling her nose into his chest. "And after I'm going shopping with Caroline and Bonnie for tonight's big event."

"Do we have to go?"

"It's Betty's birthday." She placed a kiss on his chest, looking up at him. "We owe it to her."

"And she'd kill us if we weren't there."

"That too."

"Your grandmother is one scary woman." He placed his chin on top of her crown, chuckling. "Much like her granddaughter."

"The granddaughter can do some serious damage to your sex-life." She punched his chest with her fist. "Little Damon's depression would drag you down with him."

"Save your strength and go to sleep." He grabbed her fist and held it in his hand. "You can barely keep your eyes open as it is."

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm going back to work." He kissed the top of her head, releasing her hand. "I have a meeting at four."

"Stay until I fall asleep." She yawned, closing her eyes. "I hate sleeping alone."

He wrapped his arm around her as she turned on her back, her head leaning against his chest, her side pressing into his front. This was what she needed when she was tired, his arms around her, his skin against hers, it made all the bad things in the world go away because he was the dream. She never asked for anything in her life, never had to because she had everything. But then she met him, the eight-year-old girl that she was, completely mesmerized by him. He became everything to her, friend, brother, protector, parent, lover and she loved him for all of those things. But then the night of her prom came and they became one; together with all the love she had for him separately, it mixed all together and resulted in a love that couldn't be conquered, the kind of love you'd kill for, loving someone so much that living without them seemed impossible.

"Thank you."

"Hmm?" He snuggled his nose into the crook of her neck. "For what?"

"For being everything I ever wanted."

* * *

"How about this one?"

Caroline pulled the curtain from the dressing room open without a warning, holding the tenth dress she wanted her to fit. She didn't dare to sigh, knowing she'd only provoke a reaction from Caroline that she wouldn't live through. Instead she put on her best beaming smile and grabbed the price tag from the yellow dress.

"It's too expensive." She shrugged, shaking her head. "And I really like the blue one."

"But you'll look way hotter in this one." Caroline did a little jump, her blond curls bouncing. "Please, try it on? Pretty please?"

"I don't want to look really hot." She pushed Caroline out of the dressing room. "I want to look like a sophisticated grown-up."

"Why would you want to look like that?"

"Because my parents will be there." She muttered under her breath, grabbing all the dresses from the bench. "Maybe if they start seeing me as a grown-up then they'll realize that I'm able to make my own choices."

"And you think that they will forgive you by looking sophisticated?" Caroline put her hands on her hips, her blue eyes narrowing. "I think it's going to take a lot more than a dress to get through their thick skulls."

"A girl can dream."

"Hi guys."

Bonnie walked back into the store, carrying three cups of steaming coffee. She arched her eyebrow at Elena as she noticed the amount of dresses that were draped over her arm. Elena rolled her eyes and cocked her head in Caroline's direction. Bonnie bit her lip and gave her a knowing look, watching Caroline wander between the different aisles.

"Guys?" Elena smirked at Bonnie, cocking her head to the side. "We have boobs, you know."

"You are awfully chipper today." Bonnie crossed her arms over her chest, her brown eyes studying her body. "Did you get laid this morning?"

"She always gets laid." Caroline yelled from behind the rack. "Her best friend's a sex god."

"Keep your voice down!"

"But look at her, Caroline." Bonnie pointed her arm at Elena, smiling from ear to ear. "She's glowing."

"OMG!" Caroline exclaimed, letting the clothes drop to the ground. "You're pregnant."

"NO!" Her eyes popped out of her head, her cheeks turning crimson red. "I'm on the pill and we always use a condom, we're safe, I'm not pregnant."

"Damon still doesn't want to fuck you without a condom?" Caroline looked up at her, a certain frown appearing on her small face. "I thought by now he'd have gotten over his demons."

"Apparently he hasn't."

Damon never had sex with anyone without a condom, and no matter how many times she told him that it was okay or how many times she begged him to just have her like that, he never did. He said it was because he didn't want her to catch any diseases because of his lifestyle; she had long ago discovered that the truth was something very different. A condom was the only thing between them while they were connected; the only thing that shielded him from her and that shield was exactly what he still needed. They might have been best friends and shared everything including their bodies with each other but he would never let anyone get as close as Katherine once was to him.

"Katherine messed him up pretty badly." Bonnie shrugged, pouting her lips together. "I don't think he'll ever recover from that, at least not enough to marry you and give you everything you want."

"Bonnie." Caroline exclaimed, hushing her. "It's not because you have the perfect boyfriend that you're allowed to judge."

"I'm certainly having more sex with my non-boyfriend than you with your boyfriend." Elena arched her eyebrow at her friend, shaking the thought off her. "You're actually forcing me to a point where I'm talking about my brother's sex life."

"Jeremy studying in New York might put my sex life on hold," Bonnie cocked her head to the side, smirking. "But at least I know he doesn't sleep around with other women."

"It's Damon's way of coping with the world."

"He's an asshole that thinks with his dick." Bonnie threw her arms up. "When are you going to realize that he's only going to drag you down with him? He's bad for you, Elena."

"Bad for me?" She threw the dresses on the table in front of her. "Who drove us to dance lessons every Friday? Who took us to the movies and the zoo? Who brought you to the hospital when you broke your arm at my place? Who helped us with our school projects? You don't have the right to judge him because he did as much for you and Caroline as he did for me." She clenched her teeth together, her eyes boring into Bonnie's. "And you do not have the right to talk about him like that because even if he could never stand you, he still picked you up every morning and drove us to school, the least you can do is show some respect."

"But that was..."

"That was what?"

"Before Katherine." Bonnie's eyes filled with remorse, her bottom lip trembling. "Before he became this insufferable egocentric asshole."

"I'm buying the blue one." She grabbed her bag and dress from the table before smiling apologetically at Caroline. "Don't wait up for me; I'm sleeping at my non-existing-boyfriend's apartment."

"Elena." Bonnie grabbed her arm, pulling her back. "I'm sorry about what I said."

"No." She pulled her arm free, shaking her head. "I had an amazing morning with amazing sex and one of the most mind-blowing orgasms I have ever experienced. And then I napped for a few hours and went to class which didn't seem to be as boring as usual; I was having a great day until you ruined it and I'm not going to let you ruin it any further because I'm pretty sure my parents will already do that tonight."

She spun around on her heels and walked to the desk, the brunette behind it greeting her with a polite smile. Bonnie & Caroline were bickering behind her, too far away from her to understand what they were saying but their voices were hushed. She turned back to the sales lady and watched her fold the dress neatly until her phone rang in her bag.

"Aren't you supposed to be in a meeting?"

"That's exactly why I'm calling." Damon sighed into the phone. "The meeting got moved to six which means..."

"Which means you won't make it to Betty's dinner."

"I'm sorry, babe." He clacked his tongue. "But I'm sure Betty will understand if you stay at home."

"No, I have to go." She handed her credit card to the brunette. "It's her sixty-ninth birthday; she's been looking forward to this for years."

"Our dirty Betty." He chuckled softly, sighing again. "If it's any comfort I persuaded Stefan to pick you up in the limo."

"Now my life finally has meaning again."

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Don't lie to me." His tone was annoyed, knowing. "Who did you get into a fight with, Judgy or Blondie?"

"Judgy."

"Did she want to paint your nails orange again?"

"She almost made me buy a pair of yellow shoes." She accepted her bag from the sales lady. "I was about to pay for them when I realized I hated them."

"So you were arguing about me then." He chuckled, making her roll her eyes. "I can't wait to hear it but I have to go now."

"Okay." She pushed the door of the store open. "Bye."

"I'm really sorry about tonight."

"You think you'll make it for desert?" She smiled softly. "I heard it's chocolate cake."

"I don't eat chocolate cake."

"Which means I'd have two pieces."

"I'll try to make it." She could picture him shaking his head. "Just so your sugar levels won't drop drastically."

"I think this is one of the top reasons why you're my best friend."

"That," He emphasized. "And I give you great orgasms."

"Yeah yeah," She rolled her eyes at him. "Bye bye, king of my orgasms."

* * *

"I heard about your fight with Bonnie."

Elena snapped out of her thoughts, looking around the table, noticing her parents on the other side. Her mother's eyes landed on hers for an instant, the expression on her face darkening once she received a smile from her daughter. That hard, distant face made a pang shoot through her heart again, the sophisticated dress she was wearing not having the desired effect.

"I'm sure she told you all about it, Jer." She rubbed her sore shoulder. "No need for me to repeat it."

She had always been close with her brother, even after she had left with Damon and her parents forced Jeremy to choose sides too. He chose hers but for some reason her parents couldn't let go of their son. That's why he wasn't eyed like her, with the disappointed look or the disapproving frown; instead they treated him like he was the only child they had ever had. It never bothered her, she knew it wasn't her brother's fault but she couldn't help but to notice that from the moment he had started dating her best friend, there had come a tiny crack in their bond.

"She's just worried about you." Jeremy grabbed her hand, squeezing it. "She doesn't want to see you get hurt and neither do I."

"Jer, you grew up with Damon too," She shook her head at him in disbelief. "You know he'd never do anything to hurt me."

"Not on purpose." He turned his body towards her, his brown eyes boring into hers. "But you want more and he's not able to give you that."

"I think you and Bonnie should stay out of this." She pulled her hand out from under his, grabbing her glass of wine. "I know you want the best for me, but I'd be a lot more miserable without Damon."

"You think you can forgive us?" He used his puppy eyes on her, blinking his eyelashes. "Because I have to ask you for a favor."

"Sure. What is it?"

"I want you to help me pick out a ring." He took a deep breath, nervously scanning her face. "For Bonnie."

"You're going to ask Bonnie to marry you?" Stefan popped his head in front of Elena, leaning over her lap. "Why did I not know about this?"

"Shh." Jeremy hushed him, slapping his shoulder. "I want it to be a secret until I've asked her."

"I have a class in the morning but maybe we can have lunch after and look for a ring." Elena shrugged, pushing Stefan back in his seat next to her. "And then we could discuss how you're going to ask her because knowing you, you'd ask her in a drive-in."

"I'm not that bad." He gave her an offended look. "Bonnie made me watch enough chick-flicks to know I'm not supposed to do that."

"I'm happy for you." She squeezed his shoulder, giving him a smile. "But I'll wait to congratulate you until she actually says yes."

"Thanks 'Lena." He leaned forward over her lap and slapped Stefan's arm. "Hey Stef, and if she says yes I want you to be my best man."

"You sure?" Stefan arched his eyebrow at him. "The last time I was supposed to be the best man, the wedding got canceled."

"Because Katherine was a fucking whore!"

She clasped her hands over her mouth as every pair of eyes in the room was suddenly staring at her, her parents looking at her in shock, Stefan biting his lip to hold back his laughter, her brother's lips pulled up in a small smile, her grandmother giving her a look that was amused and annoyed at the same time. It took her a minute before she had the nerve to let her hands drop to her lap, her eyes moving to the white table cloth.

"At least Katherine knew her place." Miranda's furious eyes locked on hers. "It was with her family and next to a man she'd give up everything for."

"She cheated on him!" She threw her napkin on the table, her eyes wide open. "She found her place underneath another man."

"And it was not your place to tell Damon." Miranda gave her a stern look. "It was Katherine's obligation to; maybe if she had done so then things would be different now."

"Yes, then they would be married and she would still be cheating on Damon."

"Elena!" Her mother shouted, making Stefan jump in his seat beside her. "You do not know what sacrifices it takes to love a successful man, Katherine knew that. She knew Damon's needs would come before hers when he took over the family business."

"There's only one woman in this room that knows what it's like to love a man more than yourself." Betty gave Miranda a pointed look and turned to Elena. "Where is Damon, sweetie?"

"Working." She sighed, falling back in her seat. "The meeting from this afternoon got rescheduled and he had to be there."

"Shame." Betty picked on her dessert, looking around the table. "At least he'd have some dirty stories for me."

"Hold on to that thought."

Elena turned around in her seat, finding the blue eyes locking on her brown ones. She shook her head in amusement as she saw the familiar smirk plastered on his face, his eyes devouring her from where he was standing in the doorway. He still wore the black suit he'd pulled on to go to work, the jacket draped nonchalantly over his shoulder, the gray shirt hugging his muscles. It wasn't until Betty coughed that the blue eyes moved away from hers and focused on the hostess. Her parents sat silently in their seats, giving Damon the evil eye, clearly still choosing his parents' side over his.

"Damon Salvatore." Betty crossed her arms over her chest. "According to etiquette you're supposed to greet the host first."

"I make it a habit to greet the most beautiful girl in the room first." Damon shrugged indifferently, smirking at Betty. "That's why you'll be second and Stefan third."

"I heard that."

"Didn't expect anything else little brother."

Elena's eyes watched him as he slowly came towards her, throwing his jacket on the couch mid-way. The smile on her face only grew wider as the smirk on his grew with every step, her heart skipping a beat, her skin already anticipating his familiar and welcome touch. And as she stared into that pool of blue, she knew why she'd defend him each time, why he'd always come before anyone else. He was her partner in crime, the one she relied on, trusted with each of her deepest secrets, he was her steady rock and at the same time he was the wild fire that rushed through her life. She'd never be anywhere really present until he was, because no one can ever be present if a part of them isn't in the same room.

"Hi beautiful."

A giggle escaped her once his warm arms wrapped around her from behind, his warm breath against her skin. He rocked her softly from side to side in her chair, hugging her tightly to his chest. Her fingers grabbed his arm that was draped over her breasts, her nose nuzzling against his cheek to inhale his smell. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply as he pressed a kiss against her temple, taking her away from the room that was filled with the people watching them.

"You okay?"

"I'm fine." She kissed his cheek, reveling in his touch. "I'm glad you could make it for dessert."

"You look absolutely stunning." He whispered into her ear, his breath tickling. "Do you mind if I have you for dessert later?"

She rolled her eyes at him as he slowly let go of her and made his way to where Betty was sitting. He kissed her on the cheek, making Betty's eyes light up, the older woman's cheeks turning crimson red. Elena couldn't hold her smile back as Betty forced Damon to sit next to her, her grandmother's hand resting on top of Damon's arm.

"Damon." Betty squeezed his arm, her eyes begging. "Tell me a story."

"Babe, tell her about the hookers." Elena clapped her hands, excitingly. "You know about the pimp that wanted you to set-up a marketing campaign for him."

"That's certainly sounds interesting." Betty glared at the both of them. "Tell me."

"This pimp came in my office one day and asked me to develop a marketing campaign for this new bar he was going to open, you can all guess what kind of bar." Damon lifted his shoulders, lost in thoughts. "I told him that before I can promote something I always have to know what I'm selling, so I have to test the goods."

"The pimp let him fuck all the hookers." Elena threw her hands in the air. "For free."

"My job was never more satisfying nor exhausting as that day."

"And now he's still waiting for the results of his HIV-test." Elena glared at Damon, crossing her arms over her chest. "I'm waiting for the day when he comes home with an STD just so I can torture him for years."

"I'm pretty sure if I catch it, you'll get it too."

"Well, we do share everything you own."

"What?" Miranda's eyes went wide, her arm punching Grayson Gilbert mid-way. "You two... you two...no."

"I think it's time for us to go." Damon leaned closer to Betty. "We've clearly overstayed our welcome."

"You just got here." Betty squeezed his thigh. "She'll calm down in a sec."

"It's not for me."

Both their gazes landed on Elena who sat glued to her chair under her mother's furious look. Her tiny body started trembling, after all those years still afraid of what they might think of her, knowing the pressure that rested on her shoulders since she was a little girl, one of the founding families, being perfect was never enough.

"I expect the two of you for brunch next Sunday." Betty pointed her finger at him and cocked her head to the hallway. "Get her out of here."

He squeezed the older woman's shoulder and got up from his chair, feeling Elena's eyes on him. He walked to the couch and grabbed his jacket, practically running back to Elena's chair. Miranda's eyes were glued to him while she kept shouting words he didn't want to hear but he knew for sure were ripping through Elena like a silver blade.

"Come on." He pulled her up from her chair and draped his jacket around her shoulders. "We're leaving."

"Get your hands off my daughter." Miranda stomped around the table. "Right now!"

"How much did you have to drink?" He adjusted his jacket on her and pointed his eyes sternly on hers. "Can you drive?"

"I had one glass of wine." She shrugged, watching her furious mother approach. "But I didn't even finish it."

"Here." He pulled the keys for the black Audi from his pocket and placed them in her hand. "Get out of here."

"What about you?"

"I'll take a taxi."

"Damon..."

"Get away from her." Miranda pushed against Damon's chest, her eyes wide open. "I'll sue you."

"For what?" He arched his eyebrow at her and pushed Elena towards the hallway. "For giving her orgasms?"

"She's my daughter!"

"Then why did I raise her?"

Miranda's expression went blank once the words escaped his mouth. A pregnant silence lingered in the room until they heard the roaring engine of the Audi, the car driving off Betty's driveway. He locked his eyes back on Miranda's, noticing the thoughts swerve through her head, the forbidden words spoken. The image of a seventeen-year-old driving her daughter to school every day, not once did she put any effort in it to do it herself. The fifteen-year-old tucking the little girl into bed at her grandmother's house, her parents nowhere to be seen, she stopped asking for them the second he came into her life. Elena running down the terrace, stumbling over her own feet, screaming his name while the tears ran down her cheeks. That's how it had always been, he had replaced the parents that weren't present in her life; while he should have been out partying, he was watching cartoons with the sleeping girl tucked under his arm. He made her pancakes in the morning, helped her do her home work, helped Betty organize her birthday-party. Their parents cared about nothing but image, their well-behaving children at the founder's parties. But in the bottom of their heart they knew, they had never raised their daughter, nor their son. Their little girl became who she was today because she was raised by someone who was only five years older than her.

"You and I are going to have a talk."

* * *

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	4. Chapter 4

Thank you again for your patience. I am amazed by all the wonderful reviews, please keep them coming, they inspire me! Lauren, my awesome beta, thank you again my darling.

* * *

**The Choice**

Chapter 4

"I have nothing to say to you."

"Good." He cocked his head to the side, smirking. "Because it's my intention to get you to listen."

He despised this woman, felt every emotion that came close to hatred for her. Yet, he could never bring himself to really tear her down to the ground, to get her on her knees in front of him, sobbing, aching, crawling. Because he had seen her daughter suffer too much to really destroy any chance of them reconnecting again, of taking the girl he practically raised for her mother, destroying Elena's dream of ever having a bond again with the woman that gave her life.

"The only thing your daughter wants at this point is to have an actual conversation with you." He lifted his shoulders, his eyes watching Miranda's face. "She doesn't want your money, she doesn't want you to buy her a new pair of shoes, she just wants to talk to you about her school and her life. Hell, at this point she'd even settle to talk about the weather or that huge pimple on your ass."

"I don't have a pimple on my ass." Miranda crossed her arms over her chest, glaring at him. "How would you know that?"

"The fact that you choose to comment on that instead of on the things that really matter just proves my case." Damon rolled his eyes at her. "Listen to me, I don't give a shit if you have a pimple on your ass because I don't give a shit about you. What I do give a shit about is the girl that had the unfortunate displeasure of being born as your daughter and what makes her happy."

"The trash that disgraced his family will not tell me how to treat my daughter." Miranda pointed to herself, her mouth hanging open. "Elena made a choice and we told her there would be consequences; if she had made the right choice then she would have never had to deal with them."

"Your problem is with me!" He threw his arms up, his blue eyes flickering with rage. "You chose my parents above your own daughter because I didn't marry the girl they wanted me to marry and I didn't step into the business like they wanted me to."

"Yes, my problem is with you." Miranda spat at him. "Because you can't keep your hands off my daughter!"

"Elena doesn't seem to have a problem with my hands on her." He smirked slightly, pouting his lips together. "On the contrary, I think she enjoys it."

"I should sue you." Miranda lowered her tone. "A seventeen year old sleeping with a twelve-year-old girl in the same bed, I think the cops will find that as suspicious as I do. The only reason why I never did it before is because you're Giuseppe's son, but a teenage boy so close to a girl who's five years younger, that just isn't right."

"She snuck into my bed because her parents weren't there when she had a nightmare or when it was storming outside." His eyebrows knitted together, his heart drumming in his chest. "And for the record I never touched your daughter inappropriately, so the only one in this room that should be sued is you for neglecting your children for so long."

"How do you dare talk to me like that?" Miranda's eyes went wide open, glancing in Betty's direction. "How can you let him talk to me like that in your home."

"Oh, don't worry." Betty waved a hand in front of her, slightly amused. "I'll correct him the second he's wrong."

He glanced over his shoulder, smiling gratefully at the older woman who gave him an understanding nod. Her eyes shining with the same knowledge he had, she and him sitting at the breakfast table at Elena's first day of high-school, trying to calm her down, getting her to eat the cereals in front of her. Together they drove her to school, hugged her in front of the school gate, waved as she disappeared into the crowd. She had glanced multiple times at the children that were being dropped off by both their parents but she never said anything about it, instead she had hugged him tighter, burying her face into his chest, hiding the hurt that hid behind those brown doe eyes.

"Damon." Betty stood up, stacking his and Elena's plates. "Not even someone as smart as you can talk sense into someone as dumb as her."

"You're right," He let out an exhausted sigh. "They say people become smarter as they get older but she's still the same brainless bitch I met fifteen years ago."

The gasps in the room reached his ears before his eyes noticed Stefan and Jeremy still sitting at the table, both their mouths hanging open. Grayson sat on the other end of the table, his eyes wide open, startled, staring at him like he was a rare species. The only one that was able to laugh at his outburst was Betty, her eyes sparkled in joy, her lips curving up in an amused smile. While the woman in front of him just stood there, acting like a goldfish that came to the surface to breathe, her mouth opening and closing again but her voice producing no sounds.

"Now that's how you end a conversation that's going nowhere." Betty patted his shoulder, standing straight next to him. "Pass the kitchen on your way out, I had my maid pack yours and Elena's dessert."

"You know you're a godsend, right?" He pecked Betty's cheek, squeezing her shoulders. "Happy Birthday, Betty."

"Don't be late for that brunch on Sunday." She pointed her finger at him, her eyes shimmering with mischief. "Or I'll take you into the basement to my torture chamber."

"I know you tried to make us believe that when we were kids but there's nothing but bottles of wine in that basement."

"There's a secret door."

"You watch too much television." He tapped her nose, chuckling. "Get yourself a hobby."

"You..."

Their heads snapped up as Miranda's voice suddenly interrupted their bickering, her brown eyes furiously staring at him, her hands clenched together into fists next to her sides. Apparently the words had made their way through her body, leaving anger behind in every nerve of her so she stood now trembling in front of them.

"You..."

"Shh, Miranda. This is a private conversation between Damon and I." Betty held her hand up, silencing her, making her even more angry. "Like I was about to say before you so rudely interrupted me. I do have a hobby, it's worrying about my grandchildren."

"Find a hobby that involves getting laid." He winked, biting his bottom lip. "Get your old ass spanked."

"Now you mention spanking," Betty grinned at him. "Elena was going to lend me that Fifty thingies book."

"Fifty Shades?"

"You don't like it?"

"Elena read me a scene once, she didn't even make it halfway through before she lay underneath me," He rolled his eyes, lifting his shoulders. "You get the picture."

"Maybe I want details."

"You are way too invested in our sex life, lady." He arched his eyebrow at her, shaking his head in amusement. "I'm getting out of here before you ask if you can join us."

"We all know you wouldn't be able to keep up with two Gilberts in your bed."

"Mom!" Grayson hid his face in his hands, shaking. "Please, stop talking like that."

As opposed to Miranda, Elena's father usually kept himself in the background, only appearing when his lovely wife commanded him to. Grayson has never felt the need to rub everything he thought about him into his face, he left that task to his wife or to his parents who gladly reminded him as to why he wasn't part of the family anymore, why Elena wasn't recognized anymore; because he took her down with him. They didn't seem to realize that he was never the one that chose to walk away from them, it was them who pushed him away.

"I'm embarrassing my son." Betty rolled her eyes at Grayson and turned back to him. "Doesn't he realize I did the nasty so he could be born?"

"This conversation is getting out of hand." Damon pouted his lips together. "I'm going now."

"Don't you dare forget about our brunch!"

"I would never do such a thing." He looked at her with mock offense. "Besides, I love my life too much."

Betty reached for him as he was about to turn around, squeezing him in her embrace for one last time, silencing Miranda who tried to open her mouth. He chuckled softly as he pulled away, placing a kiss on her wrinkled forehead. A few words were exchanged with Stefan and Jeremy before he stepped past her and disappeared through the door again, leaving a silence behind.

"Now you." Betty turned to Miranda, grabbing the woman's arm. "I have a few things to say to you."

Miranda tried to struggle her way out of Betty's grasp as she dragged her down the hallway, the memories of her and her grandchildren flashing through her thoughts. Damon coming home with an A for English for the first time in his life, unable to hide the satisfied grin on his face, Elena running after him into the kitchen to break the news to their grandmother. Stefan and Jeremy drawing on the wall, Damon and Elena watching them in horror, four pair of eyes widening as she walked into the room. Her four grandchildren in the pool while she lounged on the terrace, the teenage boys keeping themselves busy with the plastic ball, Elena bobbing around on the big crocodile, their parents nowhere in sight; they never were.

"First of all," she loosened her grip on Miranda's arm, staring daggers at the woman. "You do not make accusations like that against my boy in my house."

"He's not your boy." Miranda's brown eyes bored into hers. "He's Giuseppe and Arlette's boy."

"Oh, please." Betty huffed, shaking her head. "Before I came along those boys were raised by nannies so don't you dare tell me that's not my boy."

"He ruined our family and you let him get away with it."

"You ruined your own family." Betty put her hands on her hips. "If you had known anything about your daughter, you'd have known she'd choose Damon."

"He put her up to it." Her brown eyes widened, her mouth dropping open. "She was barely eighteen years old, god knows what he promised her if she went with him."

"She went with him because he was the only person she could always count on." Betty spat, her body trembling with rage. "It wasn't you or Grayson like it should have been, it was always Damon who was there for her."

"Grayson runs a successful business and I have a very active social life." Miranda took a deep breath, composing herself. "It's only normal that we had less time for our children than regular people."

"My husband ran a successful business too, excuse me, he build up the successful business that Grayson now runs and he still found time to spend with his son." Betty turned away from her, straightening the curtains. "As for having a busy social life, I don't think organizing benefits and going to the spa with women who only want to borrow money from you should come between you and your children."

"I have a life!"

"You bought yourself a life." Betty's hands clenched into fists. "You think you got it all and still you're not happy."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Don't you think I don't see what you're doing?" Betty threw her arms up, her eyes boring into Miranda's. "You claim you want nothing to do with Elena but you can't leave her alone. Every time you see her, you have to make her miserable because you can't let it go."

"I lost my daughter." Miranda spat, clenching her fists like Betty had done before her. "And it's all because of that man-whore that couldn't keep his hands to himself."

"It's because you forced her to choose." Betty crossed her arms over her chest. "And you're not going to get him out of her life, he'll always be there and if you ever want a relationship with your daughter, you'll have to accept him."

"At some point he's going to break her heart." Miranda shook her head, biting her lip. "And then she'll come back to us."

"He's not going to break her heart; I know it's hard to believe but he loves her." Betty shrugged, keeping her arms folded in front of her chest. "He has loved her since they were little kids, they grew up as brother and sister for Christ's sake."

"That's exactly my point!" Miranda yelled, throwing her arms up. "She's sleeping with someone she sees as her brother."

"I know what you'll try to do and let me tell you something, it won't work." Betty chuckled, lifting her shoulders. "If you try to make Damon disappear out of her life, you won't just go up against Damon. You'll go up against Elena too because maybe it doesn't seem like it but she's the strongest of the two, she's the one holding him up."

"She's not going to ruin her life by waiting for someone who will never want her."

"You don't get it!" Betty's eyes burned with fire. "The only way Damon will disappear out of her life is if he chooses to."

* * *

"Damiiii!"

"We talked about that nickname when you were twelve."

His ocean blue eyes narrowed as they landed on her form sitting on the ground, her back resting against one of the wooden pillars in the open loft. Her bare legs lay stretched out in front of her, a set of black panties and one of his blue shirts the only thing covering her. The unbuttoned blue shirt showed her perfect flat stomach, the swell of her breasts, the beginning of her long throat. Her nipples peeked out from under the fabric as she brought the bottle of scotch to her lips.

"Great." He dropped his jacket on the ground, kicking it to the side. "You're drunk or in the process of getting drunk."

"Don't you like me when I'm drunk?"

"I always like you, Elena." He placed a kiss on top of her head, removing the watch from his wrist. "You're my girl."

They were words that would never be untrue. She'd always be his girl because no other man would be able to top him, not in her eyes. He was damaged, he was aching and suffering, fighting the world on his own, fighting the memories of his broken heart. He'd heal at some point, she was sure of it; it would leave scars behind but at some point in the future he'd smile again just because a new day had started and he was happy to wake up to it. But for now, he was at war with himself, his own fears his enemy. She would never let him enter that battlefield on his own; she'd be the army on his side, guiding him through the toughest battle of his life. But in the end the only one who would be able to defeat the opponent was him, and maybe then, when he was whole again, he'd use the confidence gained by that victory to become fully hers too.

"Do you remember the first time I got drunk?" She took a swig from the bottle, chuckling. "You were so mad at me."

"I wasn't mad because you got drunk." He looked down at her, grabbing the scotch out of her hands. "I was mad because I always told you to only get drunk when I was there to drive you home and the one time I'm not with you, you and Caroline decide to get wasted."

Even if her mind had been clouded at the time, it was still a vivid memory. Her classmate's birthday party was supposed to go by without any alcohol; of course with no parental supervision, the boys had quickly found the hidden alcohol bottles. Caroline had been her date and dragged her into the drinking games with her, their fourteen-year-old selves hadn't known their limit and it didn't take long before they had to lean against each other to stay upright. Caroline's mother suddenly didn't seem like an option anymore to bring them home; instead she had a slurred phone conversation with Damon who appeared within five minutes, practically throwing them into his car. He carried them both upstairs, growling through their giggles, made sure they both had a bucket next to their side of the bed, placed aspirins and a glass of water on the nightstand and left them to vomit through the night. In the morning he made them both sit on the edge of the bed, yelling at them for being irresponsible little brats, Stefan and Jeremy had peeked inside the room, clearly amused with her and Caroline who had to suffer through his wrath with a hangover. Betty had watched the spectacle go down from in the doorway, content enough with Damon's lecture to not give her another one; she probably knew Damon was never going to let her forget about it.

"Still, you were hard on us."

"You learned your lesson." He sat down beside her, his arm resting against hers. "You were never drunk again without me there."

"Betty told my mother the next day but she didn't care." She stared in front of her, seeing nothing. "She said if I had gotten raped it would have been my own fault."

"Your mother's a bitch." He frowned and put the bottle to his lips. "I have no idea why your father married her."

"Yes, you do." She averted her eyes to her lap, fumbling with her hands. "Everyone does."

The only way Miranda from the trailer park had been able to marry someone as wealthy as Grayson Gilbert was because she'd gotten him to sleep with her. After getting pregnant with his heir there was no other option for her father but to marry the woman who had carried her. It was common knowledge in Mystic Falls, yet no one spoke about it. Years later the whispered voices dared to repeat that event, her mother's round belly at the wedding, her birth only five months after her parents had said their vows. It had been a scandal, it still was today but it was never spoken out loud, still everyone knew about it.

"That was supposed to be my fight tonight," Her eyes searched for his, brown locking on blue. "But instead you fought it for me."

"Ever since you were a little girl I've watched Miranda hurting you," He cupped her face in his palm, smiling softly. "She's not going to hurt you anymore, not on my watch."

"She doesn't get it," Her voice broke, her head leaning into his touch. "You and me. No one gets it, not Bonnie, Caroline, not even Stefan and Jeremy, no one gets it."

"Do you get it?"

"Yes."

"That's all that matters."

He started shifting beside her, stretching his body on the floor, placing his head in her lap, his blue eyes looking up at her, his lips reassuring her with a small smile. Her hand automatically found his hair, stroking through the black locks, her other hand firmly closed around the bottle of alcohol. It still surprised her how he could find comfort in the smallest touch, how he could spend hours in her arms just lying there, purring underneath her touch. Sex was for most people the way they could be closest to one another, their most intimate moments; it wasn't intimate when you shared it with everyone. Instead moments like these were their intimate moments, because no other woman got to hold him in her arms, talk to him for hours with his head in her lap, trace the lines on his face with her fingertips. They were perfectly content with it, these moments between them, staring at each other, exchanging words without really speaking them, reacting to just the smile on the other's face, the sigh that escaped someone's lips, the fingers that suddenly stopped moving; it was strange but yet comforting to have a connection with someone, running so deep that neither of you knew where it ended.

They always lost track of time when their eyes were locked, their souls connected, their hearts beating in the same pace; two persons bared open, sharing everything with the other one. He was broken but she was here to mend the pieces, she was incomplete but he was there to fill every empty hole in her heart. They were each other's lifeline, one death killing two people; it's how she knew there would never be any other man in her life. He was made for her and she had been born to spend her life next to him; he wasn't ready to take on that position yet but that didn't mean that she hadn't already taken hers. Someday he'd stop aching and he'd have won the battles with his demons and finally she would be able to spend the rest of her life in the ocean of blue where so many women had drowned in, but she had learned how to swim in.

"Betty packed our desserts." He pressed his cheek into her stomach. "It's chocolate cake."

"Poor you. You must be starving." She smiled down at him, amused as he rolled his eyes. "Do you want me to make you something?"

"No thank you." He chuckled, the sound warming her heart. "Food poisoning isn't on my agenda this year."

"I can make a perfectly good sandwich." She slapped his shoulder in mock annoyance. "Do you want one?"

"I think I'm going to eat my dessert." He sat up, looking at her over his shoulder. "Just to annoy you."

She stuck her tongue out and watched him get up from the floor, gracefully, as always. In comparison to Jeremy and Stefan, he had never been the typical growing teenage boy. His body had never consisted out of baby fat, he'd always been toned, hard, muscled, the muscles growing together with him. While Stefan and Jeremy still had their round baby faces, he already had a hard jaw, more manly than boyish. She had never really noticed it, enduring her friends' endless talks about how perfect he really was, how lucky she was to have the hottest guy in town as her best friend. She'd known he was more handsome than her brother and Stefan, that girls ogled him more than other boys; but at the age of twelve, he was just Damon, the one that helped her do her homework and tucked her in at night.

When she turned sixteen, she finally got it. One day she looked up at him and caught herself staring at his lips, lost in the contour of them, imagining them soft and warm against her own. In the morning she used to press herself firmer against him, knowing his morning wood would press into her bottom; it made her wonder how he'd feel inside of her, how dark his blue eyes would be as he hovered above her. He'd wake up groggily, snuggling deeper into her neck, breathing in her scent; until he noticed what was going on down there and excused himself, disappearing into the bathroom. She'd stay on the bed, waiting for him to emerge, dreaming of the beads of water running down those glorious abs, her hands wandering over his sides to his hips, her lips traveling over his smooth back. When he walked back in she had to hide the red blush on her cheeks, trying not to stare as he had only a white towel draped around his hips. He'd sit down on the edge of the bed, looking at her over his shoulder as she still lay stretched out, enjoying the view. A smile would come across his features as he stared at her and her heart would jump in joy, realizing that he still saw her as that innocent little girl he first met, the one that first didn't want anything to do with him and later jumped in the mud with him; it didn't matter to her though, whatever she was to him, she knew she'd always be his girl.

"I know something else you could eat." She came up behind him, sliding her hands under his shirt. "Me."

"I see the alcohol is kicking in, making you brave and all..." He turned around in her arms, a smug smile on his face. "It's a good thing I know you're tasty."

"I just really want to keep you away from my desserts."

"Mission accomplished."

A giggle escaped her as he went for her ass, his fingers digging into her skin, he bit his bottom lip, his blue eyes scanning over her face, clearly enjoying what he saw. She grabbed the collar of his gray shirt and pulled him against her, her lips finding their spot against his, their tongues quickly entwining, curling around each other, wetting the other's flesh. Her body moved against his like a snake, curling into his touch, reveling in the way his mouth moved over hers, hard, firm, warm.

"I think you're overdressed for this party." She breathed against his lips, her brown eyes flickering dangerously. "If you're not dressed appropriately in the next ten seconds, I'll have to spank you."

"I'm sorry, miss. I had no idea there was a dress code." He pouted, brushing his nose over her lips. "Please inform me."

"It was on your invitation, Mister Salvatore."

"I'm afraid I lost it." He squeezed her buttocks tightly, smirking. "Maybe you could help me look for it."

"I might have an idea where it is."

"Do you?"

She pulled him with her by his shirt, pushing herself up on the kitchen counter, the cold wood pressing against her thighs. She reached for him with her legs, her feet hooking behind his hips so she could pull him closer to her, his front pressing against the wooden counter, his waist secured between her legs. She lay down across the counter, the blue shirt falling open, exposing her naked chest to him, his eyes darkening, her panties getting wetter.

"I suggest you start somewhere up here," She pointed her finger from her mouth to her soaked black panties. "And end somewhere down there."

A dangerous glint passed his eyes as he slowly slid over her body, crawling on top of her, his hot breath teasing her nipples as he slowly made his way over her skin, his lips hovering barely an inch above her hot flesh. He gently bit her chin as he reached her head, his body draped over hers, pressing into all the right places. His nose brushed her lips, her cheeks, the spots under her eyes, her nose, her forehead, slowly driving her crazy for his touch. It was a game; he lowered his head, making her expect his lips against hers, then right before his mouth touched hers, he pulled back, letting her crave more. She writhed underneath him, every time he pulled back driving her more insane, needing his touch more; at some point a hiss escaped her as he pulled away again, her fists clenching besides her, her nails digging into the wooden countertop. He chuckled, the mischief visible in his eyes, his arms stretching beside her until suddenly he moved his right arm and cleaned the counter beside them, making plates shatter on the ground, forks and knifes flying across the room.

"You'll have to clean that up."

"You'll have to buy new plates."

"I'll have to borrow your credit card."

"Make sure to drop by Victoria's Secret while you have it."

With more force than intended she smashed her lips back against his, effectively shutting him up. A deep growl rose up from somewhere in his chest, his tongue sliding against her white teeth, his hands wandering over her bare stomach, the bulge in his pants pushing against her pubic bone with his every thrust. Her palms found his stomach, her fingers tracing his six-pack, every muscle separately. She spread her legs wider to accommodate him, her bare skin rubbing against his jeans, her temper rising up at the amount of clothes he was still wearing.

"You're still wearing that damn shirt."

"I still haven't found my invitation."

"Then you'd better get to it."

She started shoving him down by his shoulders, her arms pushing as hard as they could, growls of irritation making him chuckle as he slowly took his time to kiss her skin everywhere. Her arms fell limp beside her as she gave up, the alcohol kicking in, making her body feel numb and on fire at the same time. She arched off the countertop as Damon's mouth closed around her pebbled nipple, his hand squeezing her other breast just hard enough, the sensations rushing straight to her stomach and down to her aching heat. Clearly, he found the whole situation amusing, his bright blue eyes twinkled, his teeth gently nibbling and sucking on her nipple, knowing it would drive her crazy.

"You're risking your best friend card here." She breathed heavily, staring daggers at him. "Just fuck me already!"

"What about that invitation?"

"Fuck the invitation!" She screamed, her legs kicking against the wood beneath her. "Fuck me!"

"Impatient little thing you are."

Her whole body was trembling, aching for his touch, her skin wanting to press every one of her pores against every one of his, her hands itching to touch him, to dig her nails into his skin. The heat between her legs seemed to increase every second, her entrance burning on the edges, eager to be filled. She was ready to combust, explode into a pile of aches and he was taking his sweet time with getting off of her and standing back on his feet, his eyes scanning over her burning body. When he finally reached for her panties she lifted her hips up, her impatience getting the best of her. Her legs fell open in front of him, offering herself up as his meal, needing him to take advantage of her. Moisture dripped down her thighs, her slit glistening, her little bundle of nerves throbbing, her whole body begging.

"I once saw someone milk a cow; I think about the same amount of liquid came out of the udder."

"Who the hell got you on a farm?"

"It was on television."

"That makes more sense."

He bent down, his lips closing around her pink flesh, his tongue dipping inside her wet heat. He traced the tip of his tongue over both of her lips, searching his way to her swollen clit, the sensation growing in her belly, her hips arching off the surface beneath her. An amused chuckle came from him as he heard her moans escape, his hand coming to rest on her stomach, holding her down as he thrust one finger into her core. Once she had thought it was the most disgusting thing ever, his lips covered with her juices, his tongue licking her out, his nose buried between her folds; then one night he practically forced her to let him do it, saying she'd love every second of it, and she did. His warm mouth around her clit made her reach points she thought she could never get to; it was exactly what was happening, throwing her head from side to side, her fists pounding against the wood, her hips fighting against his hand on her stomach, the tension building in her belly, her breasts feeling heavier than ever, her core ready to explode until, it did.

She lay panting in front of him, her eyes fluttering, her chest going up and down with heavy breaths while his eyes roamed over her chest, his fingers going for the hem of his shirt, pulling it to his head, inch by inch unveiling the abs that hid beneath it. Her brown melting eyes opened wider again as he stood shirtless in front of her, her hands reaching out to touch him, her elbows pushing her up until she sat up in front of him, his waist encircled by her legs. She put her hands flat against his chest, reveling in the feel of his skin against hers, her eyes taking him in, her breathing coming back to normal. He shuddered as she placed her mouth around his nipple, sucking gently, her palms gliding to his back, pulling him closer to her, her ankles hooking behind his butt. She gave one last tug on his nipple and slipped her tongue out, licking and dipping her way down to his navel, her fingers tracing the line of hair that started there and disappeared into his jeans. Her fingers fumbled with the clasp of his belt, quickly separating the two ends so she could pull his zipper down. His cock sprung out as she started pushing his jeans down, the glorious limb standing up for her.

"Someone's happy to see Mommy." She grabbed the base of his penis, nursing it softly. "Did you miss me?"

"Why do you always talk to my penis?"

"It's my form of dirty talk."

She divided the pre-cum over his head, circling her thumb over his tip, making him drive his hips into the circle of her legs. She hopped off the kitchen, pushing him back so she could get down on her knees, licking slowly over the length of his cock. He twitched as she closed her lips around him, bringing him deeper, swallowing all of him until he was completely buried in her mouth and throat. Damon threw his head back, his fingers digging into her hair, holding her skull; she gently pulled back and let his head plop out of her mouth, then casually she took him back into it, repeating the process, driving him crazier, his breathing heavier, his teeth biting his bottom lip.

"I think it's time to take you up on your invitation," he breathed hoarsely, fighting his climax. "And fuck you senseless."

She practically jumped up and removed the shirt that was now sticking to her sweat-clad back. He kicked off his jeans that pooled around his ankles and waiting for her to be spread out on the countertop again, his erection throbbing, his balls tightening. He grabbed her calves and pulled her bottom to the edge, putting one of her legs on each of his shoulders. He took his length in his hands and moved it up and down her slit, using her juices as a lube, his penis sliding up and down her folds, bumping against her clit. Elena threw her head back, hearing the condom wrapper being opened, Damon's length disappearing for a second from her body until suddenly rubber pushed against her entrance, thrusting in to the hilt with one stroke.

Her nails scratched the countertop, Damon thrusting into her at the pace of a desperate man, desperate for release. She felt her walls warming around him again, her little bundle ready to explode again. His mouth fell open, sweat drops running down his skin, his eyes fluttering, his breathing heavy. He bit into her knee, fucking her hard, his balls slamming against her skin with every stroke; the pool started building up in her belly again, the sensations spreading through her at the speed of a swerving car. A grunt escaped him, his thrusts speeding up, his erection swelling inside of her, her walls tightening around him, pulsing, waiting for the little bundle's release. Moans fell off her lips, growls rope from deep inside of his chest, little tingles suddenly spread through her slit and then waves of pleasure crashed over her.

Three strokes later he tumbled over the edge while she was still milking him dry, pulsing around him, his erection caught in her canal. He panted, his knees wobbling, his hands slowly helping her legs off his shoulders. He stepped forward and dropped down between her legs, his head resting on her breasts, his head going up and down with every rise of her chest, the sweat on their skins mingling, the smell of sex surrounding them.

"I love the effect alcohol has on you."

"Shut up." She smacked his back, giggling. "You love it."

"If I hadn't been so damn hard I would have made you beg on your knees." He placed a kiss between her breasts, snuggling his nose in there. "We both know you'd have done it."

Sex meant for the both of them different things; for him it was about the physical pleasure, losing himself in another body, not caring about whose body it was. To her it was about getting as close to him as possible, physically as well as emotionally, just like she had been the first time they became one. Her prom had been the night everything changed, she was slow dancing with her date when suddenly a hand appeared on her shoulder, her skin tingling under his touch, ocean blue eyes locking on her brown ones, a gasp escaping her. He'd dragged her out of the decorated gym, guiding her to his car. The ride was quiet, she didn't need to ask him what he was doing, where he was taking her; she knew what they were going to do. He didn't say a word as he parked in front of the hotel and got out of the car, knowing she'd follow. The room had been luxurious, cream-painted walls, satin bedsheets, intimate lighting making it look like it came right out of a magazine. He broke the long silence when he asked her if she wanted something to drink; after briefly shaking her head she wondered who of them was the most nervous. His fiancee had a killer body, a body any guy would dream of possessing; she was barely a woman, her breasts weren't perfectly round, her stomach wasn't completely flat like Katherine's, her legs weren't as long, her skin wasn't as tanned. But she didn't mention any of it to him, not wanting to remind him of the fact that he had a fiancee, scared that he'd run out the door; she wanted this, had wanted it since she knew there existed such an act between men and women.

That's why she hadn't been able to keep her eyes off of him as he started undressing, the chest she'd seen a thousand times before suddenly in front of her, ready to collide with hers. With trembling hands she had unzipped her dress, letting it fall to the ground so it pooled around her feet, only her black bra and lacy panties between his naked body and hers. Her heart had beat frantically in her chest as he unzipped his jeans, lowering them to the ground so she for the first time saw what a real man looked like. After taking a deep breath she had removed her bra and panties, watching him come closer to her, his eyes scanning over her body, apparently liking what they saw. She had gasped as his lips found their way onto hers, finally knowing how he tasted like, what it was like to be kissed by him, how his tongue pushed against hers. They'd fooled around, getting to know each other's bodies, licking, teasing, tasting every piece of unfamiliar skin until suddenly he was hovering above her, his length pushing against her entrance, his blue eyes boring into hers, asking for a silent permission. She had leaned up and kissed him, feeling the tip of him slide into her, stretching her walls to a point where they'd never been. It didn't hurt like her friends had told her, there was a slight sting but then when he completely filled her there was nothing else but the feeling of her walls wrapping around him, welcoming him home. Her legs had wrapped around him, her arms wrapping around his shoulders, clinging to him, his eyes boring into her, radiating nothing but devotion. She had wanted to cry at the overwhelming feelings of being one with him, instead she gave him a smile, knowing he'd take it the wrong way otherwise; and as he drove gently into her, sensations building up inside her stomach; she couldn't help but to think that somehow she'd always known he was going to be her first, just like she somehow knew he was going to be her last.

"I know that you're comfortable on top of me." She shifted underneath him, stroking his hair. "But I'm really not comfortable under you."

"You usually don't complain about that." He started moving off of her, his feet on the ground. "Maybe it's because you're tipsy and you get all feministic when you are."

She rolled her eyes in annoyance and got up, taking her panties and shirt along with his clothes from the ground. He walked in front of her, his bare ass waggling as he walked up the plateau to the bedroom. She pulled his belt from his jeans and walked after him, dropping the clothes on the bed, watching him stand in front of the closet. When his full attention was focused on the closet, she pulled the belt back and let it collide with the flesh of his ass, making him jump up, his cheeks now slightly pink.

"I told you I'd spank you if you weren't dressed appropriately in the next ten seconds." She giggled, holding the belt teasingly in her hand. "Besides, I always wanted to do it."

"Do that one more time and you'll end up screaming underneath me." He pointed his finger at her, warning her with his eyes. "That's a promise."

"You say that like it's a bad thing."

"I didn't mean that kind of screaming."

She yelped as he tackled her onto the bed, his fingers tickling her sides, his laugh echoing through the room, her own laugh joining his. It was a carefree moment, away from all the worries, the smile on his face lightening the room, lightening her world. She writhed underneath him, fighting for air, her laughs turning into screams, his blue eyes shimmering in joy, an image she savored so much. He let go of her, his legs still straddling her waist, his eyes boring into hers; she couldn't imagine any man more beautiful, more perfect than he was, a devil and an angel hiding in one body, a heart and soul made for hers hiding in it, she couldn't imagine ever loving someone else.

"I think you're bad for my love life."

"I'm pretty sure of it." He cupped her face in his hands, brushing his lips over hers. "Do you want that to change?"

"No. Never." She wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "I'm so glad I met you, Damon. I'd never change that."

"You know nothing would have changed between us if I had married Katherine, right?"

"Everything would have changed between us, Damon." She smiled sadly, trying to comfort him by hugging him closer. "We were already growing apart when you got engaged."

"Katherine was jealous of you, so jealous." He whispered into her ear, watching shock cross her face. "When I asked her why she cheated on me she said it was my fault because she'd always come second to you."

"Damon..."

"You want to know my secret?" His voice was hoarse, his eyes burning into hers. "I'd be lonely without you."

"Then you'll never be lonely." She blinked her eyes against the tears, a small smile on her face as she hugged him. "Because I'll always be right here with you."

"You always were territorial." He chuckled softly into her neck, his breath tickling her skin. "Like a puppy."

"You're lucky I didn't pee around you to mark my territory."

She bit into his ear, doing her best puppy growl. He sniggered, shaking his head in amusement; his laughter made her realize how naked they were, their skins rubbing against each other, yet completely comfortable. That's how it had always been, his arms were safe, her safety net that shielded her from the world, the embrace that would soothe her as thunder rumbled above Betty's house and she ran into his room, quickly slipping under the covers into his arms. That's how it had started, then there were tummy aches because of her periods, then it was nightmares and at some point she didn't need any excuses anymore because he seemed to have accepted the fact that he had to share his bed with her.

"Do you remember the first time we met?" She tangled her fingers through his dark locks. "You were pulling my ponytail."

"And a few years later you were pulling mine." He placed a kiss behind her ear, grinning. "I remember and I also remember the day we became friends."

"It was at a benefit and I was hiding under the table because I was bored, then you noticed me there and came to sit with me." She bit her bottom lip to hold back her laughter, the fond memories rushing through her head. "You said it would pass faster if we made out."

"You slapped me." He pushed himself up on his elbow, stretched out next to her. "It was so cute."

"You had a crush on me."

"I had a crush on anything that had boobs or was in the process of developing them."

"For some reason I liked you." She shook her head, staring up at him. "I still remember the look on Betty's face when I asked her if you could come over to play.

"She didn't like me so much back then."

"And now you're her favorite."

"I still can't believe she just took me and Stefan under her wings like that." He pushed a lock of hair back behind her ear. "I could never respect that woman more than I do now."

"I think it was because you were always with me and we pushed Jeremy and Stefan together because otherwise they were always with us." She chuckled, burying her face against his shoulder. "She noticed things at your place were exactly the same as at mine so she just took you two in like she did with us."

"Yeah, that was far enough down memory lane." He placed a kiss on top of her head, his eyes filling with something she couldn't read. "It's time for bed."

"What are you doing tomorrow?" She got up and pulled the covers back, watching him do the same on the other side. "I'm going to class and after that I'm meeting Jeremy."

"I have a meeting in the morning." He slipped under the covers, fluffing his pillow. "Where are you going with Jeremy?"

"First lunch and then ring shopping." She pulled the covers over her, nodding. "He's going to propose to Bonnie."

"Wow." He stared in front of him, shaking his head. "Brave man."

"Yeah, I know. It just seems so weird, they're a good couple," she turned on her side, slipping her arms under her pillow. "But some things are just weird about them."

"Like what?"

"They have secrets, it's the strangest thing I've ever heard."

"Not everyone's like us." He shrugged indifferently, staring at the ceiling. "We're like: hey, I have to poop, hand me a magazine."

"Only you do that." She smacked his shoulder, rolling her eyes at him. "But even besides that, most of the time Bonnie tells him he can't call because she needs space and he only calls her every three days."

"Weird." He pouted his lips together, turning his head to her. "I call you three times a day."

"Exactly." She sighed, lifting her shoulders. "I don't think they're ready for marriage."

"It's their life, 'Lena. It's not our job to interfere with it." He turned on his side, facing her. "Talking about this marriage stuff, I've been thinking; you should move in."

"What?"

"I said you should move in." He spoke the words slowly, smiling. "Like here, in the apartment where you practically already are every second of the day."

"You sure?" She eyed him suspiciously, looking for any signs of doubts. "What if you bring a girl here?"

"Well, we share girls now too so that's not a problem." He waggled his eyebrows at her, smirking. "Besides, I can go to the girl's place instead of coming here."

"That trio was a one time thing."

"I know, I was just kidding." He rolled his eyes, shuffling closer to her. "I mean it, just move in here and you won't have to pay rent anymore with Bonnie and Caroline so maybe you could save some money for a car or to travel or whatever you want to do with it."

"Okay."

"Okay?"

"Okay."

"Great, we'll pick your stuff up tomorrow." He closed his eyes, snuggling his nose into the pillow. "Now that's settled, go to sleep."

"Goodnight, Damon."

"Goodnight."

She placed a kiss on top of his head and turned around, pushing her bare back against his bare chest. He draped his arm over her waist and buried his nose in her hair, inhaling her scent. His hand found her breast, his thumb moving in circles over her nipple, slowly, knowing it would get her to sleep. He quickly heard her breathing even out, her body relaxing and melting into his. He sighed and tightened his hold on her, hearing suddenly the banging on the door, someone yelling Elena's name.

He let go of Elena and slipped out of the bed, leaving a sleeping Elena behind, grabbing a pair of sweats from the floor. He rushed to the door and pulled it open, the girl's fist behind it held up, ready to bang on the door again, her face stained with tears, her brown curls a mess on her head, her knees wobbling.

"Bonnie?" He narrowed his eyes, rubbing sleep out of them. "What are you doing here?"

"There's been an accident." She stuttered through her sobs, barely audible. "It's Jeremy, you have to wake Elena up."

"What happened to Jeremy?"

"He's dead." She fell apart, tears streaming down her face. "He crashed his car, you have to wake Elena up."

"Elena's asleep." He pulled her back as she tried to get through the door. "And I'd prefer it if she stayed asleep."

"Didn't you hear me?" She yelled in his face, her curls sticking to her cheeks. "Jeremy's dead!"

"And he'll still be dead in the morning." His blue eyes widened, his arm pushing her back. "You just want someone to cry with you but it's not going to be Elena."

"She has to know!"

"I'll tell her in the morning." He blocked the door, throwing his body in front of hers. "You're not going to wake her up so you two can cry all night, he'll still be dead tomorrow and there's no use in waking her up now so the pain can start earlier."

"You're an asshole."

"I know." He clenched his teeth, grabbing the handle of the door. "Go back to your apartment, go cry with Caroline and I'll deal with Elena."

He slammed the door shut in her face, taking a deep breath, running his hand through his hair, walking back to the platform, seeing Elena peacefully asleep in bed. Memories of Elena and her brother rushed through his mind, the two little Gilberts sitting on his bed, bickering as he tried to find something to wear; Jeremy and Elena fighting over the remote while Stefan waited until they dropped it and snatched it away from them. A thirteen-year-old Jeremy reading a letter to his sister on her fifteenth birthday, telling her she's the best sister ever, even though she steals his cookies. Memories he'd all been part of in some way, the little boy he saw grow up into a teenager and then a man and now that little boy was gone, the teenager had disappeared, that man had died.

"Fuck."

* * *

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	5. Chapter 5

Pfieuw! I don't really have anything to say but thank you for all the support, I'm really overwhelmed by all the reactions this story gets. & of course like always, big thank you to Lauren for being my beta.

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** The Choice**

Chapter 5

There's nothing better than waking up to the person you love the most in the world. The way your hearts starts beating faster as his hands wander over your naked body, his whispers filling your ears. It was all Elena could think about as she felt soft lips move against the side of her face, his gentle voice calling her name, his fingers tucking the lose strands of hair back, unveiling her face to him. She blinked her eyes against the bright light that fell into the room and smiled, a satisfied moan making its way up, her skin tingling as gentle kisses caressed it.

"Wake up, sleepyhead."

"No." She pouted and grabbed her pillow, throwing it over his head. "It's still dark."

"If you opened your eyes it wouldn't be." He chuckled quietly, pulling the covers off her body. "Come on, it's time to get up."

"Damon."

"What?"

He leaned down and kissed her pouted lips, efficiently shaping them to his. She turned on her side and pulled him further down, nestling her hands in his damp hair, answering his kiss by deepening it until their tongues were rubbing against each other, softly, in sync, a dance they'd perfected years ago. He started pulling away, leaving pecks on her mouth, traveling down to her throat and onto her bare shoulder, his lips brushing her skin, waking her up to a new day.

"That feels good." She moaned as he left a trail of kisses on her spine. "Keep doing that while I nap some more."

"Nice try." He stood up straight, glaring at her. "I made pancakes and if you're not out of bed before they're cold, I'll never make any again."

"Pancakes?" Her eyes flew open, a broad smile on her face. "Real ones?"

"No, I'm picturing them in my head." He rolled his eyes at her. "Yes, they're the real thing so get your ass out of the bed."

"Did I miss my birthday?"

"If it was your birthday today, you'd have started giving non subtle hints a month ago."

She looked up at him with a guilty smile and swung her legs over the bed, her beautiful naked body on display for him. He fought the urge to throw her back on the bed and turned around, walking off the plateau into the sitting area and kitchen. It didn't take long before she came after him, wearing his black t-shirt, the hem of it falling mid-thigh. She smiled as she saw him turn the pancake around, walking up behind him, hugging his back.

"Why did you shower without me?" She placed a kiss on the back of his neck, running her fingers through his damp hair. "Don't you have any respect for the environment?"

"I was up early and I thought I'd spoil my girl with breakfast." He turned his head over his shoulder, kissing her nose. "I thought she might appreciate it."

"And she does." She nuzzled his cheek, hugging him tighter. "She loves you for it."

"Good, let's fill her stomach."

She giggled and ran to the table, quickly seating herself on a chair. He felt the stab in his heart as he scooped the pancake onto her plate, knowing that her smile would soon disappear, that tears and heartache would replace it. It made him want to pack their bags and drag her to his car so he could drive her away from all the pain that was waiting here for her.

"What time is your meeting?" She chewed on her pancake, looking so innocent it tore his heart apart. "Can you drop me off at school on your way to work?"

"The meeting got canceled."

"Oh, then I'll just take the bus." She sliced her pancakes, still looking like that twelve-year-old girl he used to help with her homework. "I've got that professor again that just reads us the book, I don't know why I even bother to go to his classes but he gives extra grades if you attend them so I just go."

"How's everything at school?" He swallowed his own piece of pancake. "How are your grades?"

"I got all A's except for French I got a B of course."

He wanted to punch himself in the face; this seemed like a normal everyday conversation, yet nothing about it was normal. He wasn't supposed to have this kind of conversation when her brother was now lying in the morgue; he was supposed to be soothing her, hugging her tightly as she cried into his chest. Postponing telling her made it all worse, it would make her anger towards him worse every second; yet he couldn't bring himself to hurt her, not when she seemed so carefree and happy.

"Damon, did you hear me?" She grabbed his hand, softly squeezing it. "I said I have an A for every subject except for French."

"I heard you." He took her hand and kissed her palm. "That's good, I'm proud of you."

"Are you okay?" She cupped his cheek, her thumb smoothly rubbing over it. "Do you want to talk about something?"

"Elena." He pressed his hand against hers, entwining their fingers. "I have to tell you something."

Like he had predicted the smile immediately fell off her face, concern flashing through her brown eyes, her fingers tightening around his. He could only imagine what was going through her mind; probably never the idea that her brother might have died in a car accident. Even he who had received the news last night and had the whole night to think about it still couldn't get his head wrapped around it. Her brother was dead, they'd probably have to attend his funeral soon and here she was thinking that she'd probably have to pick up more shifts because they had money problems.

"That's probably Stefan." She snapped her head to the door, hearing someone knock. "I'll go."

Her fingers slipped from his as she got up, dropping a kiss on top of his head. He smiled to reassure her and watched her walk to the door; she probably didn't even realize that she was only wearing his t-shirt, that her long tanned legs would set Stefan's crotch on fire. But at the moment that was the least of his worries, Stefan's crotch would survive the fire, Jeremy's body hadn't survived the accident.

"Elena, I'm so sorry!" Stefan stomped through the door, his frantic eyes looking into Elena's. "I can't believe this happened."

"What's happened?"

Stefan's faze froze, seeing the small wondering smile on her lips, her eyes still that bright brown. He tried to utter a few words but apparently didn't seem to find the right ones, until his gaze fell on Damon's; Elena's eyes followed him, arching her eyebrow at him, a frown appearing above her nose. He got up, avoiding their questioning gaze, his eyes boring into Elena's, remembering the last smile she had given him just a few minutes ago, knowing that it would be a while until he received another one.

"Elena, take a seat." He pointed his chin to the couch, putting his hands in his pockets. "I have to tell you something."

"What's wrong?"

"Sit down, sweetie."

He felt Stefan's eyes burning into his back as he took Elena's elbow and guided her to the couch, placing her down on it. His little brother sat down on the armrest, judging him from there. He placed his hands on both sides on Elena's thighs, sitting down in front of her, her knees against his chest. Her brown eyes searched his face for answers, her hands lying her in her lap, fidgeting nervously. He was about to tell her something that would change her life, give her a pain that would never completely fade away; he couldn't do it and yet he was the one who had to do it.

"There's been an accident." His blue eyes bored into her brown ones, his hands holding her down by her thighs. "Jeremy was in the car."

"No."

"Elena." He pushed her down as her eyes started to water. "Jeremy didn't survive the crash."

"Wha..."

A loud sob interrupted her words, her face turning to the side, searching confirmation with Stefan that her brother was indeed in another world, that he was not playing some sick joke on her. Stefan nodded quietly, taking away that last piece of her hope, setting free the tears that had been pooling behind her eyes. He wanted to crumble into pieces so he wouldn't have to see the pain on her face, the moment her heart broke and she let her head fall in her hands, sobs shaking her petite body, her lungs struggling for air. He wanted nothing more than for it to end, to take the pain away, push it in his own body so she didn't have to suffer through it; she had suffered enough in her life, had felt more pain than the average girl of her age. It made him want to scream at the world for being so unfair to someone who never wanted anything but the best for the people around her, who'd give everything to make sure the people she cared about were happy. And at the same time he wanted to scream at himself because he made a silent promise to her that nothing would ever hurt her again, not when they left together five years ago and not now; she deserved all the happiness in the world and when he failed to give that to her, he felt like he had failed her.

"Come here." He got up from the ground and sat down next to her on the couch, gathering her in his arms. "I'm so sorry."

"Jeremy."

"I know." He kissed the top of her head as she sobbed into his chest. "I know."

"He was on his way to Bonnie's," Stefan quietly explained, his green eyes finding blue ones. "It was raining and he was driving too fast."

"Was he drunk when he left last night?"

"I don't think so." Stefan looked down at Elena's trembling body, his head snapping around at the sound of the ringing phone. "I'll get it."

He shared a quick glance with his brother, their eyes filled with the same feeling of loss, sharing the same memories that brought up that feeling. The three boys sitting under the table at a benefit, peeking under the girls' skirts, discussing which color of panties they liked best, Elena finding them there, pulling Jeremy by his ear from under the table. Jeremy and Stefan appearing in his room as Elena lay curled up against his side, claiming they don't want her to be scared of the storm so they'll keep her company, him huffing as he looked down at Elena who was peacefully asleep, making room for them in his bed. His phone ringing in the middle of the night, Jeremy and Stefan singing that they want him to pick them up because they're too wasted to walk through the snow, him disentangling his limbs from Elena's and going to pick them up, Elena sitting on the stairs as they arrive back at Betty's place, a fire burning in her eyes, screaming at the two drunks for letting him drive through the snow in the middle of the night, Jeremy slurring a few words and asking her why she's being a bitch if all of her brothers returned home unharmed, him seeing the fire burn out; it was the only thing that mattered.

"Betty wants you to come to the hospital."

"Me?" He snapped out of his thoughts, cradling Elena closer in his arms. "Or Elena too?"

"I think she meant all of us." Stefan whispered, glancing over at Elena. "If we're up for it."

"If he's still at the hospital," Elena looked up with frantic eyes, breathing heavily. "Then maybe they're operating on him and he'll be okay."

"Honey, Betty didn't mean the hospital." Damon stroked the tears away from her cheek with his thumb. "She meant the morgue."

* * *

"Grandma."

Her grandmother's arm's wrapped around her, the white curls coming to rest in the crook of her neck as Betty hugged her granddaughter; their tears ran down their faces and sobs escaped their shaking bodies, no matter how hard they tried to fight them. They stood there in the middle of a hallway, the hospital buzzing around them, nurses whispering to patients, children crying because of broken bones, doctors rushing into theater with wounded people; the whole world was still running at its normal pace while her world seemed to have stopped an hour ago. The children would stop crying when their broken bones were healed, the nurses would move on to another patient after taking care of the other, the people in surgery still had a chance to survive while all hope was lost for those bodies in the morgue.

"Hey Stud." Betty whispered over her shoulder, teary eyes locking with Damon's. "Is Stefan here?"

"Yeah, he came with us." Damon patted Betty's arm, squeezing it. "He's getting coffee."

"Good. We all need it."

A muffled cry pulled Elena's attention to Bonnie who was sitting on the small couch, her eyes bloodshot, make-up smeared all over her face, her brown curls sticking to her face, Caroline hovering over her. Betty's arms disappeared from around her body, making her move to her best friends; and as she saw the look on Bonnie's face she could only conclude that she had been wrong. This girl had been in love with her brother for years, their love enough to stand through the miles long separation, to fight the prejudices from people that thought founding families shouldn't mingle with the people beneath them. It proved another time that you don't choose who you fall in love with, it sneaks up to you, takes over your body, clouds your mind and wipes out any objections you might have had.

"I'm so sorry." She sat down next to Bonnie, wrapping her arms around the fragile girl. "Shh, you're going to be okay."

"I won't be." Bonnie shook her head, sobbing hysterically. "It will never be okay again."

"I know it doesn't seem like it now, but you'll be okay." Elena hugged her tighter, hearing Caroline's quiet whimpers on Bonnie's other side. "You're strong and we'll get through this together."

"What if it was Damon, Elena?"

The knife sliced through her body the same time Bonnie's hard face turned to her, the brown eyes of her friend misted with tears, anger, determination; it was a question that cut to the bone, evoking thoughts she never wanted in her head, Damon's cold body laying on a steel, sterile surface, the shimmer gone out of his blue eyes, the heart that fed the strength of hers silent, numb. It was her worst nightmare, the one thing that could never happen because his death would mean hers, they were a captain and his ship, if one survived the storm the other would do too, if one sunk, the other would follow to the bottom of the ocean.

"Why isn't it Damon?" Bonnie's eyes spread wide open, burying her face in her hands. "Jeremy's life actually had meaning, why did he have to die?"

"I know you're hurt and you're angry at the world, I am too." Elena's voice sounded shaky, her body trembling. "But you can't say things like that."

"Jeremy was a good person." Bonnie grabbed the edge of the couch. "Why did he have to die?"

"I don't know sweetie."

Her eyes slid to the hallway, finding Damon and Betty locked in an embrace, her grandmother's sobs muffled by Damon's shirt, Damon's chin resting on top of her white curls. Then it dawned on her; she wasn't breaking down like Bonnie because he was here, his presence holding her insides together, his attention the bandage that kept her crumbling heart from falling into pieces. Then she looked back at Bonnie and questioned how her friend was still breathing; when the love of your life died you weren't supposed to breathe anymore, your lungs would be squeezed so tight together that it's impossible to. When the person you were born for leaves this planet, your heart would stop and you'd go after him; if your soulmate disappears into the darkness, he'd pull you with him. That's how she knew Bonnie never loved her brother like she loved Damon; she had been born to meet Damon, destined to spend her life next to him. He became her religion, his soul her bible, his embrace her church, his heart her faith. They were both broken in some way, fractured into pieces, one's shards healing the other's wounds, fitting perfectly into the holes of their being, making them one.

Blue eyes fell on hers, scanning the dried path of her tears, her red puffy eyes, her tangled hair. She let go of Bonnie and dropped her in Caroline's arms, standing up from the couch, finding Damon watching her as she slowly closed the distance between them, her arms crossed over her chest until she collided with his body, placing her cheek between his shoulder blades, her hands resting on his hips, her grandmother's arms still wrapped around Damon's waist. Without being able to fight them, the whimpers returned, tears rolling over her cheeks, her arms slipping under Damon's, her hands resting on his chest, squeezing him against her. She could feel his turmoil, debating whether he should let go of Betty and hug her or stay in the position he was in now; to her it didn't matter, he was here and that was all that mattered. He was still here to hold her, soothe and cherish her, something Jeremy would never do again. Her little brother wasn't there anymore to tease her or to torture her after she lost a game of monopoly; she'd never be able to watch cartoons with him again like they did in the old days, now she wished they had done it many times more. Her brother was now lying on a steel table, the distant memories of him asking her why she never slept with him and Stefan but always Damon, feeling ages ago and yet it seemed like it was yesterday that she snuck into his and Stefan's bedroom to crawl underneath his covers and watch his eyes light up as she for once slept with him and not Damon. She wished she had done it more, spent more time with him, made more memories with him, each other had once been the only thing they had, before Betty took them in and Damon and Stefan came along a few years later.

"Are you okay?" Stefan came to stand behind her and ran his fingers through her locks, regret immediately crossing his features as he noticed her face. "Stupid question."

"He's really gone." She whispered, feeling Damon's body tense against her. "It's not a nightmare, my brother's gone."

"I know." Stefan nodded, wiping the tears off her cheeks. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault." She breathed, biting her bottom lip. "It isn't anyone's fault."

"I know that," he shrugged helplessly, defeated. "I just wish I could have done something to save him."

She disentangled her limbs from Damon's and reached out to Stefan, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and holding onto him, feeling him breathe against the skin on her neck, his hands resting on her lower-back. They had never been as close as she was to Jeremy or Damon but that didn't mean she didn't care about him, that she didn't sit next to his bed when he had the flu for a week or that she didn't drag Damon to his every football game because she knew it was important to him. They had grown up together, he was one of her three brothers, they went through the same things and shared the same memories; they were family even if they didn't share the same blood.

"You can cry." She heard the soft whimpers against her shoulder, her own tears still running down. "There's no shame in crying."

"Don't tell Damon."

"I won't."

No one ever dared to say that the Salvatore brothers loved one another, nor did anyone have the courage to say that they hated each other; their relationship had always been too complex for any psychologist to figure out. On some level they hated each other's guts, yet they never seemed to hate each other enough to walk away and disappear out of the other one's life; instead they chose to stay around and bicker, fight, argue, anything that didn't have to do with brotherly love. And yet it was their way of saying that they were brothers; that's why Stefan still barged into Damon's apartment every morning and Damon still drove Stefan to the shop to pick up his car. It was also why Damon asked her to go see some action movie, because he knew she'd ask Stefan if he wanted to come along and secretly he liked spending time with his little brother. That didn't mean that they had heart to heart conversations or that they curled up together on the couch, emotions were seen as a weakness in their father's eyes and that was still carved into their bones because when it came down to hurting, the brothers drew up a mask in each other's presence, one that never faltered.

"Elena."

She pulled her head out of Stefan's shoulder and focused on her mother's eyes, finding them red, filled with tears, make-up smeared down her cheeks. The only question that went through her mind was if it was real or if it was all a show, you never knew with Miranda Gilbert; she liked to be in the center of attention, her son's death giving her the perfect excuse to be just there. Her father's face on the other hand look so torn that you couldn't doubt the condition of his heart at the moment; he wasn't crying but his eyes were red, revealing that he had been not all too long ago. A female doctor was standing next to them, wearing a white coat like every doctor in the movies did, her face passive, her mouth tight, her eyes scanning around the room of people who were mourning Jeremy.

"We'll get through this as a family."

Her mother's arms grabbed her in a tight hug, something she didn't really feel comfortable with. They had never had that bond that some mothers and daughters share, that one where you talk about everything and ask advice about the most silliest or most important things; her mother had never been interested enough in her life to even know what her favorite color was, let alone knowing what was going on in her head. It had always been Damon and Betty who were there to answer her questions, to get her through difficult times and make her smile when her world was clouded. She felt like she was now betraying the people who had raised her by being in her mother's arms, accepting the hug just because she didn't want to make a scene the day she had to say goodbye to her brother. But she could feel Damon's eyes burning into her back, some weird sixth sense telling her that his blue eyes were burning into her, silently warning her that this could be some trick of her mother to hook her claws back into her daughter and separate them, take her away from him after she spent all those years fighting to be with him.

"I'm sorry for your loss, Mr. Gilbert."

"Thank you, Damon."

Damon appeared next to her side, his hand extended towards her father, the other coming to rest on her lower back. She didn't doubt for a second the move was made to get her out of her mother's arms, so she took his offer and gently pulled away from Miranda, walking back into Damon's arm that draped around her waist, holding her tightly to him. Her mother's eyes came up to hers and started burning, making her realize that it was time to choose sides again, that her mother thought this event would bring her back home and that by walking into Damon's arm she had betrayed her, choosing sides yet again. But the fight in Miranda's eyes wasn't over yet, she was still daring her to choose a different side, making it even more obvious by standing opposite Damon. So she sighed, bored her eyes into her mother's and turned into Damon's body; because it was home.

"Although we're sure it's Jeremy," The tight lips of the female doctor suddenly moved. "We need two people to identify the body to make it official."

"I'll go." Grayson nodded silently, his voice raspy. "He's my son."

"I can't." Miranda shook her head hysterically, letting herself fall into the couch with her head in her hands. "I really can't."

"I'll go." Damon squeezed Elena's waist, lifting his shoulders. "I grew up with the kid, I saw him more than his mother did."

"I'm sorry sir." The doctor held her hand up, stopping Damon from moving. "But we prefer blood-related."

"I'm his girlfriend." Bonnie stammered, her voice trembling with every word. "And I want to see him."

"Miss, I'm really sorry to say this but it's not a pretty sight." The doctor's face drowned in sorrow. "I suggest you treasure the last image you have of Jeremy."

"Why can't one of us go?" Stefan stepped forward, his eyes cleared from the shed tears. "We grew up with him, if it's him any of us will recognize him."

"It's hospital policy, sir." She shrugged, her eyes casting down on Elena. "I understand you're his sister?"

"Yes, she is." Damon spoke before she could open her mouth, his arm tightening. "And she's not an option."

"I can do it, Damon." She grabbed his shirt in a fist, pulling his attention towards her. "I can handle it."

"I don't care, you don't have to see your brother cut into a million pieces." His words made her flinch, his eyes looking over her to her grandmother. "Betty, you?"

"I'm sorry but I had to do this with Frank," she stammered, her words barely audible. "I can't do it again."

"I can do it, Damon." She clenched her teeth together, stepping out of his embrace. "Maybe they're wrong and it's not Jeremy."

"Your naivety is admirable." He spat at her, his blue eyes widening in frustration. "What kind of shit is this, why not just let his girlfriend in?"

"It would be different if they were married..."

"He was buying her the ring today!"

"What?"

Every pair of eyes in the room fell on Bonnie as the quiet whisper reached them, her eyes wide open, focused on Damon, the words clearly seeping into her mind, the images of the wedding she could have had flashing through it. She saw the moment Bonnie realized the words had been true, her face covered with shock, her eyes watering and finally releasing new tears. That was the moment Elena's eyes locked with Caroline's, knowing they'd have to do something before there were even more things said that were not supposed to be spoken; she knew Damon would never let her go, keeping her away from anything that could hurt her had always been his first thought, Caroline knew it too, so they silently discussed the plan, sharing it through their eyes, confirming it with a small nod.

"Damon." Caroline suddenly broke the pregnant silence. "I have to talk to you."

"Blondie, go suck on a lollipop or whatever you chatter boxes do."

"It's important." Caroline stared firmly at him, crossing her arms over her chest. "And we chatter boxes talk to assholes so I'm doing exactly what we chatter boxes do."

Damon threw his hands up and Elena thought for a moment he'd start pulling his hair out; before he could, Caroline grabbed him by the elbow and dragged him with her, making sure that his back was towards their family and friends so he wouldn't be able to see Elena. He gave Elena a look over his shoulder that clearly said she'd be dead if she moved but that didn't keep Caroline from walking further, letting him slump against the wall.

"Blondie?"

"Why did you only tell Elena this morning that Jeremy died?" Caroline's eyes burst open, her hands suddenly on her hips. "It's a complete jerk-move and don't even get me started on how you put Bonnie back on the street again! She was upset, she was crying, she was a mess, she had just lost her boyfriend for Christ's sake and you slam the door in her face in the middle of the night!"

"First of all, the only reason why she was in my apartment was because she didn't want to be miserable alone and had every intention to drag Elena into the crying party with her." Damon threw his arms up, his eyes blazing. "Secondly, that she was there in the middle of the night was her own choice, she should have gone home after she heard the news and cry there like every other person would do. But no, she barged into my apartment in the middle of the night like a drunk overly-emotional hippie and her only intention was to make it the worst night of my life."

"That still doesn't explain why you didn't wake Elena up," Caroline spat at him, frowning her nose. "How long did you think you could keep it from her? Were you actually planning on telling her at all?"

"No, Caroline." He rolled his eyes exaggerated, his hands balling into fists. "I was going to tell her on her deathbed; hey, do you remember that brother you once had, the one I told you moved to Australia and didn't love you enough to send you letters or email you, he's actually been dead for a very long time I just forgot to tell you."

"I hope you're being sarcastic." Caroline crossed her arms over her chest, cocking her head to the side. "Or there's more wrong with you than I thought."

"Of course I was going to tell her! After she had slept through the night, showered and her stomach was filled with food for three days. Because do you know what she'll do now for the next three days?" He questioned by tipping his chin in her direction, mocking her. "She'll cry and do anything but eat, sleep or shower. And that would have all started earlier if I had let Bonnie wake her up; but now since I'm a complete asshole, she slept through the night and I don't have to worry about her starving herself to death because she ate more pancakes than a tiny human like her should be able to eat. I could spare her 8 hours of pain, that's what I do, it's in my job description of best friend and if you don't get that then you shouldn't be sharing that title with me."

She fidgeted nervously with the sleeves of her sweater as she felt Damon's eyes burn into her, waiting for whatever she had to say. She discreetly glanced over his shoulder and saw Elena talking to the female doctor, sneaking glances at Damon who had his back towards her. The doctor nodded gently and pointed Elena and her father to a white metal door in the hallway, typing a code into the keypad so the doors opened and the three of them could walk in. Caroline sighed in relief once the doors closed behind Elena and Grayson, her eyes falling back on Damon's who was still intensely staring at her.

"Damon." Caroline bit her bottom lip. "Will you still let me snoop in your DVD collection if I told you I distracted you to get Elena into the morgue?"

"What?"

His lips fell open as he snapped his head around to the place Elena had been standing a minute ago, his eyes searching the room, counting the persons that were sitting on the couch, trying to find the face that had woken up next to him this morning, detecting Grayson's empty spot by Miranda's side. Damon's eyes snapped back to hers and looked over her face, finding complete remorse there. His eyes burned with anger, his muscles flexing, his body stiffening; when he turned around again he noticed the white door and sprinted towards it, trying to find the handle, pushing his shoulder against it.

"Elena!"

"Damon!" Betty put her hand on his shoulder, trying to calm him down. "She's doing what she thinks she has to do."

"Oh yeah?" He laughed a hard laugh, his eyes widening. "She's doing it because no one else had the balls to do it; including you. Which brings me to my next point, you'd jump off a cliff for Elena but you couldn't go in there and I know why. You had to do that when your husband died and the image haunts you."

"Don't you dare talk to me like that." Betty's eyes narrowed, her finger pointed in his direction. "Don't you dare think that you know what I went through when I lost Frank."

"She's right," Miranda appeared next to Betty. "Don't you dare use that tone when it's your fault that Jeremy's in there in the first place."

"It's my fault?"

"Yes!"

"I'm sure you have some great fantasy explanation for that one," he rolled his eyes, slamming his fist against the steel door. "But truth is that it was raining and he drove too fast, so go blame a weather god or his wrecked car but don't kid yourself that this is my fault."

"This is your fault." Miranda nodded as if she was a hundred percent sure it was the truth. "You ripped our family apart."

"You want to blame someone, Miranda?" He threw his arms up, blue eyes spitting fire. "Blame yourself because the one I took under my wings is still alive!"

"It was my fault." Bonnie's squeezed voice broke the lingering silence. "I asked him if he could come over."

"See," Damon pointed his arm in Bonnie's direction, feeling Caroline's glare upon him. "Her fault, a weather god's fault, maybe his Honda's fault but definitely not my fault."

Everyone seemed ready to start screaming at him, their eyes pointed at him, their bodies stiff, sobs escaping them, some of their hands balled into fists; and then an agonized scream ripped through the hallways of the hospital, the scream tearing his insides apart, knowing from whose lungs it came.

"Elena!"

"Sir." A nurse came running down the hallway. "You're not allowed to go in there."

"We have two options here," Damon smirked, throwing his body against the door. "You're going to let me in or I'm just going to keep on hitting this door until my shoulder is dislocated and then I'm just going to use my other one."

The nurse didn't get to answer him as the door was opened and a doctor tried to step through it, he slipped past the woman in the white coat before she had even realized he was standing there. The strong smells filled his nostrils, goosebumps appearing on his arms as the cold hit him, his blue eyes scanning the room, silver doors against the wall, containing dead bodies, bodies packed in plastic bags on a table, some covered with white sheets, their blue feet sticking out from under them.

"Damon?"

He didn't answer Grayson who was standing next to a table with an uncovered body, the bruises, cuts and missing body parts hiding the fact that it had ever been Jeremy. He forced himself to look away and scanned the room, finding a sobbing girl on the floor in the corner, hugging her knees to her chest, her head buried between them. He quickly rushed through the maze of dead bodies and crouched down next to her, his heart aching in his chest to see the violent sobs shaking her body, his lungs squeezing together with hers as she struggled to breathe. She pulled away as he placed his hand on her knee, her brown teary eyes snapping to his before she seemed to relax and recognize him. He smiled gently and took her arms away from her body, placing them around his neck as he wrapped his own arms around her waist, picking her up from the floor. She desperately clung to him as he started carrying her to the white door again, keeping himself from glancing at Jeremy's dead body on the table.

"He's really gone." Elena whispered into the crook of his neck. "My brother's gone."

"I know." He gently rubbed her back, squeezing her tighter. "You'll be okay, I'll get you through this."

She settled her face against the side of his neck again and played her mantra in her head; Damon would make everything okay, he always does, as long as you're with Damon, you'll be okay. It had always been like that, he'd keep her together, making sure that not a single piece of her got lost. His soul would make sure that hers wouldn't break down or it would drag his with it, his heart would make sure that hers had the strength to beat or his would die too, his being would keep her alive and not let her drown in a shallow existence. He'd have to pick her up from the ground again and heal the biggest wound she'd ever known. And she knew he'd do it, he'd put a band-aid on it and dull the pain so her body would have time to heal itself and when he'd pull the band-aid off, the wound would be gone and a small scar would stay behind, reminding her forever of the pain she suffered.

"You're driving."

She didn't have the strength to pull her head up and see who had followed them, she only heard the car keys fall in someone's hands as Damon tossed them. Then Damon moved them into the backseat and cradled her in his arms, his lips finding her forehead, his fingers stroking the hair out of her face. She curled herself up against his chest and wiped her last tear away, staring blankly in the distance as the hospital disappeared into the back window. Out of the corner of her eyes she noticed Stefan behind the wheel, his eyes fixed on the road; then she turned back to Damon and drowned in the pool of blue.

"I can't believe you're letting Stefan drive your car."

"Stefan can drive my car any day if it means I get to snuggle with you in the backseat."

She pecked his neck and let her head rest there again, grateful that he caught on to her act. It was one of the first things he taught her, not willingly and not deliberately but she knew how to wear a mask the exact same way he did. He mastered the art but she knew how to hurt in silence, away from the watchful eyes; and when they were alone again she'd be able to really fall into his arms and cry her heart out, let it sink in that her brother was really dead, that she wouldn't have the conversations with him she planned on having, that she wouldn't hear his voice again, see his smile, hug his body; he was gone. She'd never see him walk up the aisle, hear Stefan's best man's speech and see Jeremy shake his head as his best friend's complete nonsense. She wouldn't get the dance that every sister gets at her brother's wedding before he'd pass her off to Damon, she'd never dance with her brother again; the only songs that would be powerful enough to make them see each other again were the ones that would bring back the memory of him.

"Remind me why we don't live in a building with an elevator."

"We can't afford it."

"Right."

He adjusted her in his arms as she mumbled against his neck, Stefan trailing behind them as he carried her up the stairs and into the corridor. She lay limb in his arms and let him carry her inside the loft, their breakfast still on the table, Damon's pants from last night still lying on the floor. She didn't even protest as he laid her down on the couch and grabbed a blanket from the back, draping it over her. She was numb, not even feeling her toes, her heart aching, her eyes open because closing them brought horrifying images.

"I'm going over to Betty's." Stefan placed the car keys on the coffee table. "She needs help with the funeral."

"When's the funeral?"

"Tomorrow."

Damon's eyes found hers as Stefan answered her whispered question. She knew why he sat down next to the couch instead of going with Stefan to Betty's place, because he knew she needed him more at this moment than Betty did. He knew once Stefan stepped out of the door she'd fall apart and she'd need his arms to hold her together. It was bound to be painful, heartbreaking and he'd be there through it all, she knew it, he didn't run from heartache, he faced it and dealt with the consequences, no matter how long it would take him to put her back together.

And she knew that's exactly what he was starting now, sitting down on the ground next to her, his arm stretched out on the couch so she could curl up against it and use it as her pillow as he had a conversation with Stefan, fully aware of her shaking body against him. And then they were alone, Stefan's absence opening the floodgates.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"Tell you what?"

"You know what." She spoke through clenched teeth. "Why did you wait until Stefan barged in here to tell me?"

"It slipped my mind." He shrugged indifferently, rolling his eyes. "You know how I am with thoughts that are not about me."

"My brother died and it slipped your mind?" She pushed herself up on her arm, looking down at him. "Bullshit, Damon."

"What does it matter anyway?" He got up from the floor, throwing his arms in the air. "He's dead, what does it matter that you knew twenty minutes earlier?"

"I could have known last night!" She threw the blanket off her body, getting up. "But you hid it from me while you should have woken me up and told me!"

"What good would that have done?"

"I wouldn't be in this state." She stomped her foot, tears rolling over her cheeks. "I'd have had all night to process it."

"You're not the only one who lost their brother, Elena!"

The air got stuck in her throat, his words sinking in and making her back down, realizing that Jeremy had been as much his brother as he had been hers and Stefan's. He was raised together with him as siblings, the four of them forming a family of their own while their parents were absent. And while Jeremy had spend most of his time with Stefan, he still came to Damon when he needed advice on girls or when he wanted to have sex for the first time. Damon functioned as his brother and father and she had never realized until today how deep that connection ran.

"Damon..."

"Don't." He grabbed his jacket from the chair and his keys from the coffee table. "Just don't."

"Where are you going?"

"Somewhere I can get laid."

* * *

"You look like you can use a drink."

"Tristan."

"Hello Elena." He sat down next to her on the stool. "How are you doing?"

"I think I'm living the worst day of my life." She spun the glass between her fingers. "Have you ever had a dream where you know you're dreaming but you just can't wake up?"

"Yes."

"I wish today was a dream like that."

"Boy trouble?" He let his cheek rest in the palm of his hand. "He's an idiot if he let you go."

"I'm in all kinds of trouble." She looked down at the glass of bourbon in her hands. "But yeah, boy trouble is one of them."

"Did he break your heart?"

She looked up into his green eyes and found herself lost in them, the alcohol in her bloodstream making her brave. This was a man who she had met once, forced by her parents into a dinner she though would include her brother, it had been a sham they both had to live through before Damon showed up and rescued the day. This man was nothing like Damon, he'd do the honorable thing, buy her a drink and find her a cab to get home safely, he'd ask her out for dinner before he took her to his bachelor pad, he wouldn't walk out on her if they got into a fight, he wouldn't go find sex somewhere else to forget about his worries. He'd stay with her and comfort her, talk through the fight and make love to her, he'd whisper those three little words into her ear when the time was right and she knew that's what she'd been craving all along. Those three little words of love spoken to her, making her all tingly on the inside and making her float on a cloud; it's what she had always wanted ever since she was a teenager. But she had never gotten it because she fell in love with a man who was hurt, scarred, maybe beyond repair and she was hurting along with him, his pain reflecting in her every emotion because she was bound to him in a way she could never be bound to anyone else. They were one soul, mind and heart, if one was hurting, the other was too, if one was dying, the other would crumble too. But that didn't mean that she didn't crave that feeling of being treasured unconditionally, that she didn't picture a golden ring around her fingers. Those cravings were there, buried beneath the surface because she knew she'd never get to them with the man she wanted to; she was left alone in those dreams, aching for them to come true.

"It's not broken... it's just... aching."

"Why do you let him hurt you?"

"Because I can't imagine my life without him." She wiped a tear away from her cheek, taking a swig from her glass. "Every day I wake up next to him and I think I have to get away from this...and then he wakes up and he looks at me and smiles and I just... can't walk away."

"You don't have to stay with him, Elena." Tristan took her hand in his, squeezing it softly. "You don't owe him anything."

"That's just the thing," she whispered, her eyes searching for his. "I do."

Words had never been more heavy, she owed him because she took away his happiness, found out Katherine was cheating on him and brought that news to him. The truth was that she had been looking for anything that could stop the wedding, she had followed Katherine everywhere, traced her every step and when she did find something it was one of the most happiest days of her life because she couldn't watch her friend walk down the aisle, not with someone on his arm that was not her and that did not love him the way she loved him. She still remembered the look on his face as she told him what she found out, how his eyes had found hers, filled with disbelief, the pictures she had taken making his skin pale, his fists rippling the paper. He had sprinted out of the room without saying a word and she'd been left behind in her room, waiting next to the phone, thinking he'd never would say another word to her. And then her bedroom door had flown open, Damon stepping in her room, his whole composure a mess, his eyes filled with tears; she'd opened her arms and he walked into them, sobbing into her shoulder, his arms wrapped tightly around her waist. It had been the worst and most happiest day of her life because he was hers again and she could love him freely again, not having to worry about some other woman's affections claiming him. So when he pulled his head out of her shoulders and locked their eyes, she moved forward and pushed her lips against his, feeling him gasp into her mouth, his fingers digging into her skin, his body wanting to hide in hers. It had been a month since the night of her prom and she had never forgotten how he felt like inside of her, she had never stopped craving to have that feeling again and now he was here, answering her lips desperately, like he'd die if he didn't savor every part of her. She knew he held onto her because he didn't want to think about the things in his life, she knew it and she didn't care. Because it wasn't awkward like the first time, it was passionate, consuming, earth-shattering, needy; and it ruined her.

"What do you mean?" Tristan arched his eyebrow at her. "Why do you owe him?"

"I took his happiness from him." She swallowed the lump in her throat. "And now he's not the man he used to be anymore because he's in pain and he's betrayed and I can't fix it."

"I'm sure he doesn't blame you."

"That's the worst part, he doesn't." She looked back to the bottom of her glass and sighed. "Why are you here?"

"I live upstairs." He pointed to the ceiling, smiling a bit. "I come here for my nightcap."

"I'm sure you weren't looking for a dramatic drunk to spill her life story to you." She smiled sadly. "I'm sorry for keeping you up."

"I don't mind." He held his hand up, shaking his head. "Actually, the bar's about to close but we could move this conversation to my apartment."

"Sure."

"Isn't there someone waiting for you at home?"

"He walked out." She lifted her shoulders, grabbing her bag. "That's the reason why I had to get out too."

Tristan nodded and threw a bill on the bar, paying for both their drinks. They walked out of the bar and he opened a door next to the entrance, revealing a small set of stairs. They quietly climbed it until they reached a small corridor; while he fumbled with his keys she watched him and noticed he was tall, skinny but handsome, light hair, green eyes, small lips, he was everything Damon wasn't.

"Tristan?"

"Yeah?"

He didn't get the chance to say anything more as she slammed her lips into his and went for the buttons of his shirt, her fingers quickly loosening the first few. He hesitated a few seconds before he answered her mouth, his hands coming to rest on her hips, pulling her against him. And for a moment Jeremy wasn't dead, he was still alive and on the verge of proposing to Bonnie. Damon wasn't mad at her and he wasn't out fucking some other girl, he wasn't hiding the pain with sex like he always did, he was here in her arms.

"Elena." Tristan panted, pushing her back a little. "When I asked you to come up I didn't mean..."

"I know."

Damon could escape from pain when he was inside of someone, when his only focus was reaching pleasure. He had taught her how to wear a mask and she was now about to learn how to escape from pain like he did. It was meaningless and it would take her away from everything, it had only one goal and it had only one outcome; running away from her aching heart. And she could have told herself all night that Damon was in her arms if the ringtone she had for him wouldn't be ringing out of her bag, if she hadn't known that he had come home and was now out looking for her. Things would have been different if she had been able to keep her eyes closed and picture his blue ones on the other side, but Damon wasn't here now, he was on the other side of her phone trying to reach her, only Tristan's green eyes were here now.

"Are you going to get that?"

* * *

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	6. Chapter 6

Here it is. So sorry about the long wait, updates will be quicker from now on. Big thank you to **LaylaReyne **for betaing.

* * *

**The Choice**

Chapter 6

"Where the hell have you been?"

She remembered nights like these when she'd tried to sneak upstairs until suddenly a small lamp in the living room would light up, revealing Damon sitting in the chair like some creep out of a horror movie, chuckling as she jumped up, startled. After sending him a death glare, she'd walk towards him, carrying her high heels in her arms, her feet aching from wearing them all night. He'd shuffle in his seat so she could plop down into his lap, curling her legs against her chest, resting her ear against his heartbeat. They'd sit there in silence, listening to the wooden floors crackle, watching the sunrise through the window as dawn settled in the early morning. His fingers would run through her curls, his lips pressing occasionally against her forehead, as the songbirds outside announced another peaceful morning.

But nothing about this morning was peaceful. Blue eyes blazing, spread wide open with anger. Lips tightly pressed together, forming a hard line. Muscles flexed, jaw clenched. Fists holding her biceps, leaving red marks on her skin. She'd have told him he was hurting her if she hadn't been nailed to the ground by his rage, rendering her speechless.

"Where were you?" His eyes bored into hers, teeth clenched. "I've been out looking for you all night."

He spat the words at her like they held venom and she felt them seeping into her body through every vein and vessel, sinking to the bottom of her heart, filling the space with guilt. But her heart wasn't the only thing guiding her; in her mind she could still see him walking out the door, his back turned to her, leaving her behind to drown in her own pool of misery. She had talked herself into being strong, the brave girl he taught her to be, someone that was independent; the woman he brought her up to be, the one that could co-exist next to him, that could tear herself away from him to find consolation in another man's arms. That girl, woman, sister and lover was doing the walk of shame for the first time in her life.

"Elena!"

"I was out fucking!"

She pulled her arms free as his grip faltered; his eyes widened before they narrowed again, his mouth parting slightly, the hard features in his face fading away. She could see the turmoil in his eyes, the emotions rushing through that ocean of blue like waves; disbelief, shock, disappointment, worry, suspicion, contempt, anger; until he finally settled on one, disgust. Another man, other hands, had touched his girl, wandering down her body, exploring her curves. He was no longer the single soul that had touched the intimate parts of her; they were now covered with another man's sweat.

"I need a shower."

"Yes!" He threw his arms in the air, following her to the bathroom. "Try to wash your sins away."

"There's not enough soap in the world to wash yours away!" She rounded on him, stopping him in his tracks, fists clenched next to her sides. "So don't you dare judge me."

She turned around as he seemed to swallow his next words. A low growl escaped her chest as she heard him stomp behind her on the platform, catching the door of the bathroom mid-swing as she tried to slam it in his face. Instead of arguing with him, she pulled her shirt over her head and ignored the burn of his eyes gliding up and down her skin while she undressed herself, like he was checking if his goods were still intact.

He didn't move out of the room as she got into the shower, instead closing the lid of the toilet and sitting down on it. Elena let the beads of water fall down on her, rinsing away the dirty feeling. It was all she could feel; Tristan's lips on hers, her nipples pressing into his chest, his palms gliding over her bare hips, his hands squeezing her buttocks, his cock inside of her. It had felt so different from all the times with Damon, no emotions involved, no existing friendship or feelings. She was gone in the morning before he woke up. She didn't even feel guilty about it; it hadn't meant anything and that was exactly why her body now felt dishonored.

"Please tell me you used a condom."

"I'm not as much of an idiot as you think I am." She turned her head to him, watching him through the shower glass. "We used a condom, Damon."

"It's _we_ now, is it?" He pushed the shower door open, standing in it. "What's your other half's name?"

"Why do you care?"

"So I know who to sue for alimony when you turn out to be knocked up."

"We used a condom!" She angrily grabbed the bottle of shampoo and squeezed some into her hand. "Besides, I'm on birth control."

"Yes, I know how good you are with birth control." He laughed a hard chuckle, shaking his head. "You'd forget it half of the time if I didn't shove it in your face every morning."

"It was not my idea to get on it," she washed her hair, her fingers digging into her skull. "Remember when I was seventeen and you took me to a gynecologist because you thought I should have a check-up even though I'd never had sex? And then you said I should get on the pill in case it happened with Matt?"

"I read on the internet that every girl should visit a gynecologist when she's about sixteen year's old, just to make sure she's healthy." His eyes went wide, his fist gripping the handle of the door. "I did that for your own good. And by the way, Betty agreed with me."

"You talked with Betty about my vagina?"

"No, I shared that information with you from my own experience with the gynecologist when I talked to him and asked him questions about my period!" He rolled his eyes at her, frustration audible in his voice. "I don't have a vagina. I don't know what to do with it!"

"Save it, Damon. It was just an excuse to get me on birth control," She rubbed her hair between her palms. "So you knew you'd be safe when you fucked me a few months later."

"Hold on for a minute, pissy missy." He pointed his finger at her, cocking his head to the side. "You called me that morning because you wanted me to come back for you and fuck you. Will it hurt Damon? What if he doesn't know what he's doing? What if he doesn't fit inside of me?"

The way he mimicked her tone from that night made her boil on the inside. She squeezed the shampoo bottle in her hand to stop herself from directing her anger at him, keeping her eyes turned away from his so he couldn't see the pain that flashed through them. He was mocking a night she had treasured with heart and soul, one of the most important nights of her life, because she had finally become his; his mark left inside of her, their love concealed, and she wasn't just his sister anymore. And the fact that he was right made her all the more angry. She had called him that morning, knowing exactly how many hours it would take him to get back to her. That didn't mean that she'd ever dared to hope he'd come back to take her to a nice hotel and make them one; that scenario had only existed in her dreams until he'd shown up behind her.

"Why did you even bother to show up?" Elena shook her head at herself, her back to him. "If you regret it so much now then why did you even bother to show up?"

"I never said I regretted it." He lowered the tone of his voice, less angry than seconds ago. "It was bound to happen. I'm just glad you were of age or Miranda would have sued my ass."

"What do you mean?" She spun around, locking her eyes onto his. "It was bound to happen?"

"Elena!"

Caroline strode through the door of the bathroom, standing still next to Damon, her eyes red from exhaustion, her usually styled hair pulled up in a messy bun, the make-up from last night smeared over her face. And suddenly she felt guilty because she should have known she wasn't just punishing Damon by staying out all night; she should have known he'd call up everyone he knew to look for her. Now two of the most important people in her life were standing there, exhausted, ready to fall asleep any second, black circles under their eyes, pale faces. Only one of them was supposed to hurt, because he had hurt her; but the other should be in bed now, after a night of comforting her other best friend that had lost the person she was supposed to spend the rest of her life with.

"Where have you been?" Caroline let her arms drop next to her sides. "We've been out looking for you all night. You don't know how worried we were."

"I'm sorry Caroline, I was..."

"She was out, fucking her brains out." Damon turned to glare at her, his arms crossed over his chest. "While we thought she might be upset about Jeremy dying and getting herself into trouble, she was actually having a great time. Jeremy wasn't even on her mind."

Even if she hadn't been standing naked in front of them, she felt completely cut open, her soul served on a platter, squashed like a bowl of mashed potatoes. It was the one thing she had tried to forget about, the action that had gotten her here under this shower, smeared with disgust for herself. It was the only reason why she had gone upstairs with someone she had only met once before, letting him guide her through his living room to the bed to take her clothes off and stand uncovered in front of him. But even in that moment she hadn't felt as naked as she felt now; the pain hadn't been there to remind her of her raw emotions, the sadness, grief and anger that were here now, bared to the people in front of her.

"Elena?"

"Ah!"

"I'm sorry!"

She pulled a towel from the rack and wound it tightly around her body, watching Stefan sprint back out of the bathroom, covering his eyes so he wouldn't see anything more than he had already seen when he walked in. The only positive thing about the intrusion was that it managed to bring a small smile to Caroline's tired face. Damon, on the other hand, looked back at Stefan and rolled his eyes. Then suddenly, he grabbed the towel and snatched it away from her body, throwing it into the corner of the bathroom.

"Take a peek, Stef." He yelled back to the bedroom, walking towards it. "It's the least she can do for you after you've been out all night looking for her."

While she tried to cover as much of her body as she could with her hands, Caroline walked to the corner and picked the towel up, the lack of speed in her pace another indication of how tired she really was. The normally bubbly and alive girl wasn't bouncing in front of her, she was sauntering, just like Stefan had when he had walked into the bathroom with his eyes on the ground.

"I'm really sorry, Care."

"It's okay." Caroline tried a tight smile, failing miserably. "Just don't do it again, okay?"

"Okay." She nodded dutifully, as Caroline wrapped the towel around her body again. "He really isn't happy with me."

"You freaked him out, Elena." Caroline whispered, tucking the corner of the towel under her arm. "You should have heard him on the phone. He thought you had done something to yourself because of Jeremy."

"I thought alcohol and sex would dull the pain." She stepped out of the shower, shaking her head. "But it seems like it's only made it worse."

"We'll talk about it in the morning." Caroline squeezed her shoulder, managing a smile. "You should get some rest before the funeral."

"What time is it?"

"It's six in the morning."

"What time's the funeral?"

"Ten."

Caroline gave her one last nod and gathered her bag from the floor, closing the door behind her as she stepped out of the bathroom. Elena toweled herself dry and went over to the mirror, leaning her weight against the cabinet, her fists gripping the sides, her eyes boring into her reflection. The emotions were written clearly on her face; grief because the girl in the mirror had just lost her brother, anger because she had caused her friend pain without meaning to, loss because her best friend was pissed off at her for allowing herself to be touched by another man. She had once promised herself that she'd love only one man in her life, she'd love him heart and soul, in body and mind. Now her body had been loved by someone else, her mind had been lost in someone else's thoughts, while only her heart and soul had been true to their owner.

"What are you doing?"

She pushed herself away from the mirror, leaving her own question unanswered. The door squeaked as she tried to open it slowly, a faint light coming in from the kitchen. Her eyes scanned the room, finding Caroline curled up on one couch with a blanket pulled up to her chin, Stefan on the other couch, his feet dangling over the edge, snoring loudly as Caroline mumbled something in her sleep. Then her eyes moved to the bed, seeing Damon stretched out on his side, his back to her, the muscles of his arms flexing as she padded across the wooden floor, indicating he was still awake. She lifted the covers up and slid in, throwing the towel next to the bed, welcoming the warmth that radiated from Damon's body. Her eyes traveled from the top of this raven black hair to his back where the rest of his frame disappeared in the sheets.

"Why are they sleeping on the couch?"

"Because they're too exhausted to go home," He stared off in the distance, not turning around to meet her gaze. "After they were up all night looking for you."

"I know that by now, okay?" She looked from his back to the ceiling. "I know they've been up all night because of me. There's no reason to remind me of it every five minutes."

"Why did you do it Elena?" He shook his head into the pillow. "If you wanted sex, you could have just called me."

"I'm sorry that I made you jealous."

"You really don't get it do you?"

Suddenly his blue eyes were burning into her brown ones, melting her chocolate gaze. The anger glowed in his eyes, his face hard, jaw clenched, just like this morning when she had walked through the door. Never before had she been the focus point of his anger, and it terrified and thrilled her at the same time. She had wanted to make him furious, she had wanted to cause him pain, but now that pain was threatening to come between them, between the bond they had formed since childhood. They'd bickered as kids, argued as teenagers and discussed as twenty-somethings and somehow all of those things were still woven into their relationship. But never before had they fought a silent war where she barely got a word out of him. They fought, they threw things at each other's head and five minutes later one of them would fling themselves in the other's arms, guiding them to bed to reconcile their relationship.

"I thought it would numb the pain." She looked up into his eyes, tears forming in hers. "But it didn't."

"It never does." He turned around on his side again, pulling his eyes away from hers. "It dulls the pain for twenty minutes, an hour if you're lucky, and then it comes back."

"But isn't that why you do it?" She turned on her side, eyes focused on his spine. "To dull the pain?"

"Yeah."

"But if it's only for twenty..."

"Feeling nothing for twenty minutes is better than feeling everything all the time."

Broken, fractured, scarred, that's what he was, seeming so strong and confident on the outside but actually fragile at the core. It had been the exact opposite once; he used to have a stronger will than anyone she knew, his strength used to keep her from falling, his confidence had the power to support her. But somewhere between then and now, he got hurt, and the only thing keeping him together was the strength she had for the both of them. She felt his weight on her shoulders while she kept him up, she felt him lean onto her to stay standing, and some days she thought that if she'd pull her soul from his, he'd crumble into a million pieces.

"When will you forgive me?"

"When you figure out why I'm really mad at you."

* * *

"So are you going to tell me what's going on between you and Damon?"

"Why would there be something going on?"

"When Damon rides with Stefan instead of us, something is wrong. When you are not practically crawling into Damon's lap when you're crying, something is wrong. When Damon..."

"Yeah, yeah, something is wrong."

The landscape flashed by as she turned her head back to the window, feeling her grandmother's eyes linger on the side of her face. Fifteen minutes ago she had watched a coffin with her brother's body being lowered into the ground, her family and friends around her mourning his passing, and her own tears streaming over her face, no matter how hard she tried to hold them back. She felt like at any moment her limbs would be blown apart, flying away between the green grass, because she didn't have strong arms wrapped around her like Caroline's arms were wrapped around Bonnie or like her father's arms were holding her mother. Her safety net had been standing behind her, his blue eyes burning into the back of her head but that didn't mean he was there to hold her; he was there to say goodbye to his younger brother, just like she was.

"Want to tell me what's wrong?" Betty broke the silence. "You and Damon never fight longer than ten minutes."

"He's just jealous." She whispered, staring out the window of the moving car. "It's okay for him to sleep with every girl in town but when I do it once, all hell breaks loose."

"You slept with someone else?"

"Don't judge me." She turned back to Betty, shaking her head. "Damon and I are not in a relationship. I'm a single woman; I'm allowed to hook-up with someone when I want to."

The judgment drove her mad. This morning Caroline had practically given her the same speech. They didn't believe she'd slept with another man, because they'd figured out long ago that her heart was sold, that it had already found its place with a man. They had watched her suffer through the path of destruction that man was on, standing by her every minute, because they knew she'd never leave him even if he took her down with him on that path.

"I'm not judging you." Betty squeezed her leg, smiling softly. "I'm just...surprised."

"How did you deal with it when you lost Grandpa?" She pressed her lips together, fighting the tears. "I feel like I'm empty and it will never go away."

It was a gaping hole inside of her, leaving her heart a shell of what it used to be. Betty had been through it once and now she was going through it again. She'd never be able to understand the strength her grandmother had within her, it was something unseen, something every woman dreamed of having. Even if her father had once told her that he'd been afraid when his father died that he'd lose his mother too, the concept of it seemed foreign to her. Her grandmother never gave up; she didn't give up when her husband died, she didn't give up when four teenagers were having a food fight in her kitchen and she didn't give up when her grandson was killed in a car accident.

"I thought I was going to die when Frank did. I wanted to." Betty pointed her gaze to the back of her chauffeur's head. "But then I saw how you and Jeremy needed me, and I forced myself to keep on breathing."

"Did you love him so much that you wanted to die when he did?"

"Wouldn't you if it were Damon?"

"It's different between me and Damon."

"Is it?" Betty arched her eyebrow, smiling slightly. "You'd follow him anywhere. That's what you do when you love a man more than yourself, you follow him everywhere he goes."

"You make us sound pathetic." Elena shook her head, turning back to the window. "We're not pathetic."

"You're looking at it the wrong way." Betty squeezed Elena's thigh to pull her attention back. "We let them lead us, but when you look at the course of their lives, you see we were the ones that guided them."

"Damon never listens to a word I say."

"Is that honestly what you think?" Betty leaned forward, trying to lock their gazes. "Damon was destined to go off the rails until you came into his life. He was a lost boy when I met him, and I thought it wouldn't be long until he'd start with the drugs, parties, girls; but then he found you and somehow you kept him on the right track."

"That was you." She swallowed the lump in her throat. "You were the one that raised him."

"I never raised Damon." Betty rolled her eyes, sighing softly. "Nor did I raise you."

"You raised us all, Grandma."

"I had my hands full with Jeremy and Stefan." She shrugged the feelings off her. "We both know I wasn't the one that raised you."

It was crystal clear in her head. Betty breaking her and Jeremy up after they had gotten into yet another fight, pointing the both of them to a corner. Her grandmother serving dinner to the four teenagers around the table, asking them about their day while she had chastised Jeremy for picking his nose. The white covers warming her tiny body as Betty had tucked her in after asking if she'd brushed her teeth, then turning off the night lamp next to her head. A sigh filling the room as she'd wiped out the answer on her math homework for another time, Betty laughing quietly and telling a story about how she used to hate math too.

Those memories were imprinted on Elena's mind, as if they were yesterday. But as Betty's eyes lingered on her, trying to bear the knowledge she had gained over onto her, the surrounding details came into sharper focus. Damon leaning against the wall after Betty had pointed her to her corner, his blue eyes serious, asking her if she knew what she'd done wrong and she'd answered him with a tiny voice, her eyes slipping to Jeremy in the other corner of the room. Betty yelling at Jeremy to go wash his hands after he took his finger out of his snotty nose, while Damon had asked her questions about her subjects at school, knowing all of her teachers by name, remembering all of her tests, asking her if she needed a book from the library or help with studying. Damon glaring at her as she'd put the night lamp back on after Betty left the room, telling her that she was a big girl, she didn't need the light during the night, then his face softening as tears had formed in her eyes; he'd said she could leave the light on if she promised to sleep without her lamp the next night. Damon pulling her attention back to the math home work in front of her as she'd only seemed to concentrate on Jeremy and Stefan who were playing in the yard while Betty set the table; Betty chuckling and starting to tell her a story about how she used to hate math while she'd wiped away her wrong answer next to Damon's finger; him waiting until her grandmother had finished the story to explain the exercise to her again until she'd gotten it right.

"So now we sorted that out..." Betty chuckled darkly, seeing the understanding dawn on her. "Want to tell me about last night?"

"There's nothing to tell." Her mouth pressed into a hard line. "Damon got mad because someone else touched his toy and that's it."

"I don't believe that." Betty sat straighter in her seat, her eyes narrowing. "Walk me through it."

"Damon and I got into a fight, he walked out, I cried myself to sleep, and when I woke up he still wasn't back." She averted her gaze from Betty to the head of the chauffeur. "If I had stayed in that apartment five minutes longer, I'd have killed myself, so to put myself out of my own misery I walked out, got into a bar, ran into Tristan, started talking to him, and things progressed from there."

"So you started talking to Tristan who I guess invited you to his apartment." Betty waggled her eyebrows suggestively. "Then you called Damon and told him whatever you guys tell one another when one is out having fun?"

"I didn't call Damon."

"But you sent him a letter with your cellphone." Betty threw her hands up in the air, searching her mind. "Whatever you kids call it."

"It's called texting." She fumbled with the phone in her hands. "And no, I didn't text him."

"Then how did you tell him where you were?"

"I didn't tell him." She lifted her shoulders, biting her nails. "Why would I tell him when he was the one who walked out on me? Besides, he was doing exactly the same thing."

"Damon was at my place last night." Betty's eyes bored into hers, watching her intensely. "He helped with the funeral arrangements and then went straight home."

Shivers ran down her spine, her breathing quickening, the sole reason why she had ended up in that bar now outweighed. She thought he left her in that emotional state to go out and bury himself in another woman, running away from her, running away from the mess she was because he couldn't deal with it. It was how she had ended up in Tristan's arms, with the thought that if Damon could hide his pain in someone else, she could do the same; she had to do the same to prove she could be as strong as him. But with this new knowledge, she felt as if something tore apart inside her, the rage from last night now gone, regret and shame replacing it.

"Do you know why I never had to worry about you?" Betty took her hand another time, rubbing her knuckles. "Because Damon always knew where you were. I would come home, see Damon and ask him where you were and not once didn't he know the answer."

"What does that have to do with it?"

"Honey, he wasn't mad at you because you slept with someone else..." Betty took a deep breath. "He was mad at you because, for the first time in his life, he didn't know where you were, and it terrified him."

The second Betty's words seeped into her mind, the memories came rushing back to her. Damon pushing her phone into her hands so she could contact him when needed. Her eyes glancing to the school bus and then falling on the light blue Camaro parked along side it as she exited the school building, and then Damon had snuck up behind her and told her he'd drive her home. Damon leaning against the car in front of one her classmates' house, giving her an amused look as he pulled the door open for her and she'd slumped back into the leather seat. Rolling her eyes as she saw her phone light up for the umpteenth time that day, Damon's name flashing on the screen, and his question still the same as when he had called her the first time. Caroline's eyes growing wide on an afternoon when they had ditched class, her head snapping around to meet Damon's gaze in the middle of the mall, and when she had asked him how he knew where she was, he told her he always knew where she was.

"Ready to face the devil and her minions?" Betty pointed her finger through the car window. "I'm sure she's giving everyone a good show in there."

"It's been five years since I've set foot in that house."

"It was your home, Elena."

"No, it wasn't." She turned her head back to her grandmother, gently smiling. "Your house was my home."

Betty gave her hand one last squeeze before the driver opened her door. Elena stepped out and took in the villa in front of her. It was surreal; the last time she walked out of it, she didn't even look back. The warm feeling that washes over most other people when they look back on their childhood home didn't come to her because these walls only held cold memories for her; balls she didn't want to attend, fundraisers where she was forced to play her mother's daughter, dinners she had to smile through, and one particular dinner that separated her from the rest of her family for good. These rooms held her pain and they held Damon's tears from the last night they spent together here, the one and only night here she wanted to remember, filled with love, passion, and joy but still overshadowed by the anger she felt for the people that called it their home.

"Elena." Her mother's scent hit her nostrils before her voice reached her ears. "I have no idea how you can be standing up straight with all the pain you must be feeling."

"You taught me how to act at a very young age."

"I see you're hiding your pain behind a strong facade." Miranda nodded almost sadly. "But you don't have to hide your feelings from me. I'm your mother."

"Please don't offend millions of women on earth by calling yourself a mother."

"Let her go, Miranda."

Betty grabbed her mother's arm as Elena slipped passed her, walking into the foyer of the large villa. People were gathered in the ballroom where pictures of Jeremy were spread everywhere, even some pictures of them together. Her heart clenched painfully as she saw the memories displayed in front of her. Her little brother wasn't here anymore, yet she still expected him to walk up behind her, tap her shoulder and run to the other side of the room, a game he'd been playing since he was a toddler. It was foreign and unreal, it was a concept she couldn't grasp; a big sister should never have to bury her little brother.

"Elena."

"Tristan?" Her voice pitched, her eyes searching the face that had hovered above her the night before. "What are you doing here?"

"I came here to say goodbye to Jeremy." He wet his lips, pointing his gaze to the ground. "And I thought you could use the support."

"That's very thoughtful of you." She whispered, swallowing the lump in her throat. "I appreciate it...thank you."

"Elena, I know this is not the time but I want to talk to you about la..."

"Elena, sweetie." Betty's arm draped around her waist, softly squeezing it. "I wasn't aware that you're familiar with Tristan Miller."

"They tried to set us up once." She smiled tightly, pointing her hand to her grandmother. "Tristan, this is my grandmother, Betty Gilbert."

"It's a pleasure, Miss Gilbert."

"I don't know any of these people." Stefan came up behind her, making her head snap around at the irritation in his voice. "And I'm sure if I don't know them, Jeremy didn't know them either."

She looked around in the haystack made of people, trying to find a familiar face and finding none. New tears welled up in her eyes as she realized this was her mother's stage, her brother's death was the play. It made her want to run out the doors and never turn back, just like she did the last time, with her fingers locked through Damon's, their heads already in the future; wondering what it might bring for them, with just the two of them by each other's side. That prospect had been drifting in and out of their minds for years and then it had finally happened; it was just the two of them, banished from their families but with the only thing they needed right by their side.

"Stefan," she smiled tightly, whispering his name. "Where is he?"

"He's upstairs."

Betty watched her granddaughter excuse herself, tears swimming in her chocolate eyes. The fact that Damon was not by her side made it seem like Elena was only half the person she normally was; one did not operate without the other, their names were never mentioned separately because they had entwined themselves the second they met. Elena was hoping for things that Damon might never be able to give her, while this young man in front of her, Tristan Miller, would give her granddaughter everything she wanted. She knew it. She could see in his eyes, as he watched Elena go up the stairs, that he'd lost his heart, just like her granddaughter had lost her heart years ago. But he didn't love like her granddaughter did; he didn't love like her sixty-nine-year-old-self had once loved.

"You're wasting your time here boy." She watched Stefan quietly excuse himself from the conversation. "You're hoping for things that will never be."

"What do you mean, Miss Gilbert?"

"I mean you're after my granddaughter's heart, and she gave it away a long time ago."

"I don't see a ring around her finger, Miss Gilbert." Tristan straightened his back. "As long as there isn't a ring, her heart is for the taking."

"It's a ring around the heart that matters." Betty looked up into his eyes. "And let me tell you that her heart was stronger than the ring around Damon's fiancee's finger."

"What happened?"

"Miranda tried to separate them. She talked the Salvatores into setting up a marriage between Katherine and Damon." Betty's eyes focused on Miranda, who was still standing by the door. "She just didn't count on Elena."

"I think Elena feels a lot more strongly about Damon than Damon does about her." Tristan lifted his shoulder, his look filled with sorrow. "She's pining after a man that she can't have."

"First, don't you dare think that you know Damon or that Damon doesn't love her as much as she loves him." Betty pointed her finger in his face. "Second, I'm sick of people saying that she's some kind of pathetic love-sick girl. She knows what she wants, and she doesn't settle for another man because she knows it won't be enough for her. I think that makes her a strong woman instead of the weak girl you all take her for."

"Why live with a girl, sleep with her and spend all your time with her if you're not going to marry her?" Tristan sighed in defeat, shrugging. "He's giving her false hope. He's giving her just enough to keep her satisfied but she deserves more."

"Ever since they were kids, Damon is what she needs him to be. When she needed a friend, he was a friend; when she needed a brother, he was her brother; when she needed a father, he was her father. This is what she needs now and he knows it. Yes he gives her just enough to keep her with him because he needs her," Betty took a deep breath, placing a hand over her heart. "But for some reason what he gives her makes her happier than what you or I or anyone else for that matter could ever give her. So I suggest you get that white picket fence out of your head, because those before you that have tried to separate them failed, and you'll fail too. Miranda has been trying for the past five years and she almost succeeded. She thought if she gave Elena enough attention for a few months that she'd have her on her side, but when the time came to choose, Elena remembered all the times she was not there and the times Damon was there. Because let's face it, three months of expensive gifts and spa treatments don't outweigh ten years of absolute loyalty."

"I get that it must have been hard for Elena to choose between her family and a friend."

"No, it was never a choice for her. She knew where her place was; she's known it all along." Betty cleared her throat, fixing her gaze again with Tristan's. "She fell in love with him when she was eight years old, and she fought those feelings for a very long time. When she almost lost him to someone else, she finally stopped hiding them, and once she started showing how much she loved him, it became clear to everyone that no one else could ever love him more than she does."

"She's a good girl. I'm not going to give up on her that easily."

"Let's experiment with this." Betty got a mischievous grin on her face. "Go upstairs in ten minutes and I'll make sure you have Damon alone. You think he doesn't love her, but I'll prove you wrong."

"What do you hope to gain by this?" Tristan pouted his lips together, frowning. "Throwing me in a cage with Damon?"

"He'll tell you to stay the hell away from his girl."

* * *

"The last time I woke up in this room you were next to me."

That moment still lived vividly in her mind; one of his arms draped tightly over her waist, the other tucked under his head, having functioned as her pillow that night. Her breasts pressed into his firm chest, her thigh draped over his hip, his length prodding into her flesh every time she moved; it had been since the moment she'd woken up. Legs entangled, bodies flush against one another, hard abs pressing into soft curves; just like they had been all night. Desperate to touch every pore on the other's body, determined to set every nerve on fire, sweat drops mingling between their moving figures, absorbed by the other one's skin, seeping into their flesh; like their hearts had wanted to melt into one another. Fingers curled together, mouths connected, noses rubbing, his hands gripping hers like he'd die if he let her go. There had been no boundaries between them; he was a free man on a mission to give her everything of himself, making her realize how much he'd been holding back their first night, how much he could really give her. And she had been eager to receive it. It was as if the green-eyed monster inside of her was set loose that night, wrapping its arms around him, possessing him as he possessed her; she had claimed him, making a silent promise that he'd never be anyone's else's again but hers.

And five years later, with him sitting there on her bed, his elbows on his knees, his head buried in his hands, his blue eyes directed at the floor, he was still hers. She shared him with other women but that didn't mean if she left, he wouldn't follow, because at some point their lives had become so entwined that living separate ones would be torture. She'd known it as a little girl. The day she met him she knew her last thought before she left this earth would be of him, that he'd bring such a change in her life that there would be no going back from him, that she'd spend her life next to him because not having him there seemed more painful than anything else she could imagine. So she wrapped him up in every form she needed, friend, brother, father, guide, mentor, lover. He was the constant in her life, as much caught up in hers as she was in his, so caught up that one afternoon when they'd been playing hide and seek and she had searched every corner, she'd crumbled to the ground and started crying because she thought she'd never find him again.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you where I was."

"Don't you dare think you'll get off that easily." He lifted his head, blue eyes shimmering, smirk present. "First, you're going to tell me all about last night. Then, I'm going to spank you, and if you scream loud enough, I might consider forgiving you."

"Can't I just give you a blow job like usual?"

"Sure," He smirked devilishly, holding his hand out for her to take. "After I spank you."

She rolled her eyes and took his hand, letting him pull her between his legs and bury his head against her stomach, his arms wrapping around her waist while her fingers ran through his raven hair, enjoying the thick texture. She moved her hands to his shoulders and let them travel over his arms, finding his wrists behind her back to untangle herself. She crawled on top of him, her knees squeezing his waist, guiding his hands to her hips, wrapping her own arms around his neck to pull him tight against her. His body slacked against hers, the weight he'd been carrying falling off his shoulders now that he had her in his arms again. The tension left his body as she gently placed her lips against the crook of his neck, nibbling softly and feeling his head cock to the side to grant her better access. Slowly pecking her way up, she felt his hold on her hips become stronger, his breathing heavier, as she lingered on the spot on his neck that she knew drove him crazy, her tongue making slow sensual circles on his skin. He surrendered with a growl and smashed his lips into hers, pulling her down with him on the bed, her hands landing next to his head against the mattress to hold herself up over his body. His hand clasped around her neck and pulled her down, deepening the kiss, feverishly, hungrily, like he'd never have enough. He reclaimed her, making her mouth his own again after it had been kissed by another man, reinstating his ownership over her body after it had been loved by someone else. When she tried to pull away for air, he resisted and held her mouth against his for two seconds longer, as if telling her it was his and that he'd decide when, where and how long it would be kissed.

"How was he?"

"He was okay." She panted against his open mouth. "It wasn't anything like it is with you and me."

"Of course it wasn't." He rolled his eyes like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Did you have an orgasm?"

"Damon..."

"Did you?"

"No."

"I thought so." He pecked her mouth, softly biting her bottom lip. "He doesn't know your body like I do."

A shiver ran down her spine as his teeth scraped the inside of her lip, knowing the right place to make her moan out loud, just like he seemed to have found every single spot on her body that made her go crazy, like he knew he'd been made for her, born to complete her. And it was a thought that scared her; he was perfection for her, setting the standard for other men, making every man that tried to get close to her seem less than him. Until last night he'd been the only man to love her, the only one to bare his body to her, share it with her like it belonged as much to her as to him. His body was her heaven, paradise on earth for her; she'd loved it too many times and was loved by it too many times to think that it could have been different; that someone else's body couldn't make her skin tingle like his could, that it didn't fit into her curves like his did, that it didn't move with hers at the same pace, that it didn't feel like one missed day would lead to spontaneous combustion. But then there was a second man and his body didn't fit hers; it seemed like it had been made on another planet, one where bodies didn't melt into one another, where they didn't make each other scream in pleasure, it had been something that in her mind had seemed impossible. Because she had found the other half of her body, she'd touched it, loved it; it had been the only male body she'd ever seen, setting the standard for any other body that followed.

"I want to tell you something," She pushed herself up and rolled off him, staring at the ceiling. "Just don't tell anyone, okay?"

"This is bound to be interesting..." He rolled on his side and pushed himself up on his elbow, noticing her glare. "Okay, I won't tell anyone."

"His penis was like..." She pulled her nose up, frowning. "...ugly."

"I'm circumcised," He fought a smile, staring down at her cute face. "He's probably not and that's why his little John looked different."

"Little Tristan." She locked her eyes with his, blue on brown. "I slept with Tristan Miller."

"Your mom would be so proud, Elena." He chuckled, running his fingers through her hair. "Isn't he here?"

"Yeah, I don't even know why." She shrugged, shaking her head. "It's not like he knew Jeremy."

"I wonder how many people down there really knew Jeremy."

"It feels like he's still here." She whispered, fixing her eyes with his. "It's like if I go downstairs I'll find him talking to Stefan about baseball."

The wishful picture she imagined came to life in Damon's head, a memory that seemed to be on replay; Jeremy and Stefan angrily whispering at each other, their hands flying through the air, their eyes wide as they talked passionately about their teams at one of the fundraisers. He used to think of it as a comical scene, and then at some point it had started to annoy him, the same talk over and over again, just with different scores. Now he wished he could witness that scene again; Stefan's face reddening, Jeremy's eyes threatening to pop out, and Elena watching them with narrowed eyes. He'd snuggle up behind Elena and hug her, knowing it would lighten up her face while Jeremy's would darken, because he thought he didn't count as her brother anymore, that someone had taken his place in her life. Later on, when Jeremy had started to understand the bond between him and Elena, he'd stopped feeling threatened and that was the moment they'd started getting along. Jeremy would come to him for advice, he'd sit down in front of him just to talk or he'd ask to come with him and Stefan to a baseball game. He'd gained a little brother, and by gaining that little brother, he'd gained another life to protect, to care about and to support. It had been his mission in life to be there for his siblings, but now one of them was dead, buried in the ground, and he felt like he had failed. He hadn't been there to keep him out of trouble, he hadn't been there to stop him from getting in that car, and now he had a hole in his life and a stone in the ground with his brother's name carved in it.

"There's no wrong way to mourn someone, Elena." He draped his arm over her waist, pulling her closer. "Take as long as you need, do it the way you want to and don't let anyone tell you that you didn't love him enough or that you're not crying enough because he's gone."

"You were a better big brother to him than I ever was."

"I probably was the better big brother." He kissed her temple, brushing his nose against her ear. "But I'm pretty sure you were the better big sister."

"You're trying to cheer me up." She blinked back her tears, smiling softly. "Stop it."

"Then stop beating yourself up about it."

She took a deep breath and turned on her side, staring at the wall as she felt Damon shuffle behind her, his arm closing around her waist, his chin finding its spot in the crook of her neck. She slipped her fingers between his and let the tears roll over her cheeks while she thought about Jeremy. Her little brother shoveling sand on her new dress as he built a sand castle; his cries waking her up in the middle of the night and the nanny pattering through the corridor to him. Betty holding their hands as they'd walked through the zoo, Jeremy spilling the ice cream they were sharing, she throwing a fit and sitting down on the ground until her grandmother had gotten her a new one. So many childhood memories with one person because they'd only had each other until the Salvatore brothers came along and found a place in their lives. Then those moments of being together were less frequent, the memories more vague, because they were clouded with Damon's presence. Her brother had become the one that filled her time when Damon wasn't there, the one she took to the movies when Damon was out with his friends, the person that had told her he'd kick Matt's ass if he tried to get into her pants at prom.

"You were right this morning," She squeezed his fingers with hers. "When you said I called you because I wanted you to come back, you were right. I wanted it to be you."

"It's okay, I wanted it to be me too." He whispered against her ear, making shivers run down her spine. "The first time you asked me I said no because I thought it was wrong; but then when it was actually going to happen, I didn't want it to be anyone else."

"Why did you think it was wrong?"

"Because you saw me as your brother and as some sort of father-figure."

"If I only saw you as my brother or father, I'd have never asked you."

"That's what I figured out later," He stroked a strand of hair away from her face. "I thought to myself: one day you might not be the only man in her life. Maybe she'll go to someone else for advice, maybe she'll trust someone else; what if she trusts the wrong person?"

"There's never going to be anyone else but you."

"You don't know that," He placed a kiss on her cheek, tracing a pattern with his nose. "There was Katherine..."

"Katherine was just a bump in the road."

"Yeah, it took me a while to figure out it was a plastic one." His eyebrows knitted together, his lips forming a pout. "I'm just saying that I was only a few weeks away from walking down the aisle. Maybe one day you'll actually make it to the altar."

"Even if you had made it to the altar, you wouldn't have married her," She turned around in his embrace, locking their gazes. "Because I had a damn good speech prepared and you would have never gotten to the vows if I had given it to you."

"What did it say?"

"If that idiotic head of yours ever thinks to fall in love again and puts itself in front of an altar with a person that's not me," She gave him a firm look. "Then I'll give it to you."

An amused smile crossed his lips before he opened them to speak but was interrupted by the buzzing in his pants. She rolled her eyes as he took the phone out of his pocket and showed her the caller ID. Her lips found his earlobe as he started talking to Elijah, her tongue tracing the shell of his ear. He softly ran his fingers through her hair as he tucked the phone between his ear and shoulder, his blue eyes sparkling as she softly pecked his lips while he listened to his boss.

"It's Jeremy's wake." Damon shook his head, biting his lip. "I can't go."

"Give me the phone." She took hold of the device and brought it to her ear. "Elijah, I thought we discussed that you can have him on Monday, Wednesday and Friday; today is my day."

"I'll give him a project in New York over the holidays. How does New Year's Eve in NYC sound?" Elijah sighed into the phone. "I need him Elena, we have an emergency. I promise you those two tickets."

"Fine, you can have him." She rolled her eyes, finding Damon's curious gaze. "This isn't even a wake anyway. It's one my mother's performances where she shows us her excellent acting skills."

"I'm sorry about your brother, Elena."

"Thank you." She swallowed the lump in her throat, forcing a smile. "If there are any donuts left after the meeting, give them to Damon, will you?"

"Anything for you my dear."

Once she disconnected the call, she put the phone back in Damon's pocket and leaned over him, finding his eyes boring into hers. With a sigh, she let her lips fall down onto his, pushing softly against his mouth, enjoying his touch. A moan escaped her lips right before the bedroom door opened. She snapped her head around as Damon pushed himself up on his elbows and found Tristan looking at them like they had committed a crime. And for some reason she felt like she had committed a crime, guilt and shame rushed through her veins and she wanted to sink through the floor. Her legs felt wobbly as she stood up, and Damon draped an arm around her waist as he followed her movements. Tristan approached them, clearing his throat.

"Tristan Miller." He extended his hand in Damon's direction, green meeting blue. "I don't believe we've ever been formally introduced."

"Yes, of course, the one with the ugly penis." Damon grabbed his hand, shaking it. "Damon Salvatore, I've heard... things about you."

"Tristan, I'm so..."

"Elena." Betty stood in the door, eyeing them suspiciously. "People are starting to wonder where you are, and I'd rather not explain to them that you're up here having sex with Damon or having a threesome or whatever you kids are doing up here."

"I have to go, I'm sorry." She smiled tightly, glancing at Damon. "I'll walk you to the door?"

"Betty needs you." He gave her a push, smirking. "Just go."

"Damon..."

"I won't kill him." He rolled his eyes, cocking his head toward Tristan. "I'm just going to give him the big brother speech."

"Be nice, Stud."

Betty took Elena's arm and dragged her out the door, closing it behind them. Damon's eyes roamed over the boy before him, imagining his hands on Elena's skin, her body writhing beneath him, her fingers running through his red curly hair. Tristan stared back at him, no doubt taking the same inventory of him, with the same images in his head, the same thoughts running through his mind.

"Elena's a nice girl so she won't give it to you straight," Damon broke the lingering silence. "But she's not interested."

"How would you know?"

"Because she hasn't been interested in anyone..." He pretended to look for the word, rolling his eyes. "Ever."

"Anyone besides you." Tristan put his hands in his pockets, staring straight into Damon's eyes. "And you're just playing with her feelings."

"The situation between me and Elena is complicated." He crossed his arms over his chest. "We live together, but we date other people, so don't read something into last night that isn't there. She's not interested in any further encounters with you."

"That's your worst fear, isn't it?" Tristan's eyes narrowed. "That she might be interested in someone besides you."

"Elena is free to do as she pleases." He lifted his shoulders. "I'm not her boyfriend. I'm just here to keep her safe and satisfied."

"Let me tell you something, Damon." Tristan took a step forward, his face only inches away. "You're not giving me the big brother speech. You're giving me the jealous boyfriend speech because you feel threatened."

"Stay away from my girl."

"She deserves better than you."

"I tell her that every day," He started walking to the door, grabbing the handle. "But she refuses to listen."

Tristan's next words died behind the door as Damon slammed it shut and walked into the corridor and down the stairs, finding Elena next to Betty, shaking hands with people that probably didn't even consider her a part of the community anymore. He let his eyes travel over her form, starting at the dull brown eyes, the fake smile, the lazy curls in her silk brown hair, her tight black dress hugging her curves and ending just above her knees. Miranda stood on her other side, placing a hand on Elena's shoulder as she talked to one of the founding members, looking worn and for the first time showing the signs of her age, red eyes plastered on her face. Elena shuddered as she felt her mother's touch, and he wanted to rip that hand away from her like a lion would tear its prey into pieces, the anger rushing through him. Betty saw the tight look on her granddaughter's face and switched places with her, standing tall next to Miranda, shaking the hand of yet another unknown person. Elena's eyes snapped up to his and they seemed to lighten instantly, like the world was a better place if he was just standing in the same room as her. She smiled as she started walking towards him, finding his arms open for her, her tiny frame pressing into his.

"Are you going to be okay?"

"I'll be fine," She snuggled deeper into his embrace, inhaling him. "I have Grandma by my side."

"Okay." He placed a kiss on top of her head, rocking her in his embrace. "Take a taxi or let Betty's driver take you home, don't walk, okay?"

"I know the drill, Daddy." She pecked his lips, rolling her eyes. "Don't worry about me."

"Are you guys heading home?" Stefan walked around the corner. "Care to share a cab?"

"I'm heading to work." Damon let go of her, taking his jacket from the hanger. "But Elena would love to share a cab with you."

"I thought you drove here?" Elena arched her eyebrow at Stefan. "Didn't Damon ride with you?"

"Yeah, but we took his car."

"You let him drive your car?" She pointed her gaze at Damon. "Are you feeling okay?"

"He was depressed all morning because he was fighting with you." Stefan smiled smugly. "His normal jackass behavior kinda slacked."

"Thank you CNN." Damon smacked his brother on the head. "I'm out of here, drop her off on the doorstep."

"Yes captain."

"Ready to go?" Elena watched Damon close the door behind him. "When does the cab arrive?"

"In five minutes," Stefan shrugged, pointing his chin to the kitchen door. "I just have to get my keys and then we can go."

"I'll wait outside for you."

"Sure."

She opened the door and was greeted by a soft breeze that ruffled her hair and sunlight that warmed her skin. Black cars were parked on the driveway, forming some strange serenity outside of all the buzzing that was going on in the villa behind her. One black van was parked in the middle of them, seeming strangely out of place but just idling there as if it had been there forever. The birds sang their songs in the trees, squirrels ran through the bushes, nature greeting her in its own way with its own rhythm. Until suddenly that rhythm was broken. The black van was suddenly close, its metal doors opening, a hand muffling her screams, a bag covering her head and separating her from the landscape she was in.

"Elena!"

* * *

**Thank you for reading, please leave your thoughts in a review!**


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